IKEA's store layout is a deliberate maze that forces customers down a winding path through themed rooms, with checkout placed far away. Every 50 feet the path curves into a new display, designed to trigger impulse buys and keep shoppers inside longer than they planned.
IKEA has become the largest furniture retailer in the world by trapping their customers in the store. Well, how does that work? When you step into an IKEA, you enter a maze, and IKEA is controlling exactly how you move through it. They've created a designated road that all customers must follow, and their goal? They want to keep shoppers like you in the store as long as possible. Take this store map, for example. Let's say you're looking to improve your home office, so you head to the workspace section. You'll find the perfect display. You want to buy everything you see, so you've made up your mind and decided on new furniture. Now it's time to check out, but IKEA is smart. Checkout is miles away. And their genius strategy? Every 50 feet they add a curve, a new room display you have to walk through. But it's exciting, you never know what's going to come next. So now you're in the kitchen section and oh my gosh, I just have to get that toaster oven that some weird Swedish dude created. You've fallen for their trap. All of a sudden you need a boatload of kitchen stuff. But then, oh crap, next section, dining. And by the time you leave the store, they've suckered you into refurnishing your entire house.
