Affected by Coronavirus, IKEA announced on January 30 this year that it would suspend the operation of all offline malls in China. At present, IKEA stores have not resumed normal operations, but in order to deal with the impact of the epidemic, IKEA launched an online whole house design service. Can this win the favor of consumers?
 
Recently, the Shenyang IKEA shopping mall began to provide users with an online whole house design, claiming zero fees and zero contact. According to the relevant person in charge of IKEA, the IKEA whole house design service has been available since September last year. During the epidemic, the company devoted more resources to meet consumer shopping needs and provided one-on-one, free online whole house design services to customers nationwide. At the same time, IKEA WeChat Mini Program also launched online classrooms to teach consumers how to design in multiple scenarios, such as kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, etc. Each period of video playback is around 100,000.

A relevant person in charge of IKEA revealed that currently consumers can shop in the IKEA online mall. In addition to Hubei Province, other cities provide distribution services. At the same time, IKEA members enjoy a 365-day return and exchange service.

 
Domestic home customization business is based on the needs of consumers as the core. Size, design and appearance can be customized according to the individual requirements of consumers. At present, the concept of customization has been emerging for several years. Whether it is the three leading companies of Oppein, Sogal, and Shangpin Home, or the second echelon enterprises such as Piano and ZBOM, the custom business line has been relatively mature. However, at present, IKEA's whole-house design solutions are based on IKEA's existing products, not custom-made in the traditional sense.

 
At the same time, although IKEA has repeatedly stated that it will develop e-commerce business, except for the IKEA official website and WeChat mini program, the company's online channels have not changed much. Recently, in the face of the impact of the epidemic on the home industry, many domestic home furnishing companies have tried new ways of selling live products, which have attracted the attention of many consumers.
 

According to the usual practice, the home furnishing industry would have ushered in a peak consumer season after the Spring Festival. However, the outbreak has collectively trapped the home industry. In fact, the internetization of home furnishing companies has been relatively conservative.

 
In August last year, IKEA announced a high-profile announcement that in fiscal 2020 (as of August 2020), it will invest more than 10 billion yuan in the domestic market for the layout of diversified channels and digital operations, from the position of home retailers to home living service experts. Transformation, whole house design service is an important step.

Experts from China National Furniture Association said in an interview that IKEA launched a whole-house design service to meet the needs of the domestic custom home market. From the perspective of expanding sales channels, IKEA's grasp of domestic household user needs and changes in the consumer market channels is not accurate. The inherent business model has limited the company's development ideas to a certain extent, and it is still challenging to launch business in China. However, the above-mentioned experts also said that IKEA has a history of more than 70 years since its establishment, rich operating experience, sufficient funds, and relatively good consumer shopping experience and membership management. At present, IKEA is increasing its investment in the domestic market, which may be better Adapt to changes in the domestic home market.

 
At the same time, experts also mentioned that despite the impact of the epidemic, the home market will usher in "freezing point" in the first quarter of this year's sales, but consumer demand for home furnishings is just needed. When spring comes, the decoration season starts, and the home industry sales Will pick up quickly.