IKEA, The Pied Piper

IKEA is like a modern day Pied Piper. People go there with no real reason to go, and buy when there’s no real need to buy. What makes IKEA spectacular is not its collection of goods or furniture, but its understanding of the psychology of humans and their impulsive buying decisions. We paid a visit to IKEA last Sunday. And, yet again we purchased stuff that we may not use at all. Those teeny tiny things carry teaser price tags. How could we walk out of the shop, and then think, “I wish I had bought that little picture frame!”

Some of the colorful abstract displays caught my imagination. I wish I could paint them on a canvas. Nevertheless, I captured them on my iPhone, and GIMPed them to get a touch of cubism.




As we walked out of the store, my wife and I noted a few interesting points from our Sunday’s experience:

• Not so long ago, maple and softwood colored furniture was an IKEA trademark. This time we could notice a drastic shift towards black and white.

• There were fewer in-store personnel than they were in the past.

• Customers had a hard time using self checkout kiosks. The kiosks were small and messy. It looked like IKEA folks purchased some kiosks that were meant for grocery stores. However, that did not deter some highly determined customers from scanning voluminous heavy items even though they did not pass through the pathway.

• The season being summer, we expected many customers to show up. About four years ago, the parking lot would be so full on a summer weekend that we would circle round and round to find an empty spot. Blame the economy?

• If the checkout agent makes a mistake by scanning your item twice, and if you figure that out after you have paid for it, she cannot credit back the money to your credit card. You will need to go to “Return Items” section, wait in a line that can make you wait for hours to get your refund. And they won’t apologize for making the mistake or for making you wait.