The IKEA catalog lasted nearly 70 years. First published and mailed in 1951, it was long a primary source of inspiration and information for shoppers seeking to outfit their homes. Consumers thus continue to note their emotional attachment to the vast catalog, looking forward to its regular arrival in their mailboxes. At one point, IKEA was sending out 200 million copies of the approximately 200-page booklet, translated into 32 different languages.
But consumers also demonstrate, through their behavior, that their connection to the catalog seemingly has grown more emotional than functional. That is, whereas once people used the catalog intensively, both to place orders and to provide a sort of roadmap through the labyrinthine stores, today they make their purchases digitally, online or on the retail app. Therefore, rather than continuing to invest resources in a print catalog that people like but don’t really use, IKEA has diverted its spending to enhancing its website and app.
Yet it does not want to alienate those few shoppers who still rely on the catalog. Thus it will continue to publish a smaller, targeted book that consumers can request. It also has archived all its catalogs on its websites, so fans can visit for a nostalgic tour of furniture trends and fashions.
But those consumers represent a minority. Online sales increased 45 percent in 2020, the last year the big catalog would be on offer, and the website counted more than 4 billion visits from shoppers.
Discussion Question:
- What are the pros and cons of halting publication of the catalog?
- Who is IKEA’s primary target market, and are those consumers likely to use a catalog or not?
Source: George Anderson, “Is IKEA Making a Dumb Mistake Ending its Catalog?” Retail Wire, December 8, 2020; Bill Chappell, “‘Emotional but Rational’: Ikea Discontinues its Long-Running Catalog,” NPR, December 7, 2020