Take a Picture of This: Ikea’s New App
Author:Lindsey ShookThere are two types of people that shop for furniture; the ones that absolutely love it, and the ones that absolutely hate it. For the ones that love it, there is a certain thrill when imagining and transforming what their future room will become because one has probably spent hours searching California Home + Design for inspiration. For the ones that hate it, there is nothing scarier than walking through Ikea’s maze of a store to find and buy that perfect item, probably because one doesn’t even know what one is looking for. Either way, agency McCann-Erickson for Ikea has elevated that shopping experience for the Ikea customer, as they have tapped into one of the central problems encountered by everyone when shopping for furniture: “Will this work for my house?” With its new app, you can finally visualize your house, and turn it into a home.
The concept behind the app for your smartphone or tablet is simple: it virtually places any piece of furniture from their catalogue to where you want it. If, let’s say, you need a new table, you can see it interact with the other pieces of furniture you have in your home. If you don’t know whether a bookshelf will fit in the nook between your table and sofa, you can virtually place the bookshelf and see it fit (or not, in which case you can keep on browsing and find a piece that will work). The beauty about this app is that it eliminates the need to measure, worry, or even regret buying a piece of furniture from Ikea.
Before
After
It’s really quite simple. You put the catalogue where you want a piece of furniture, aim your smartphone or tablet to that location, and see how the product comes to life in front of your eyes. It is by far one of the most innovative home catalogues out there because it allows you to interact with the products without having to leave your home.
Whether you love buying furniture or gag at the idea of it, Ikea has successfully managed to take a mundane problem and innovate with a creative solution. For those who love furniture shopping, it makes going to Ikea that much more enjoyable because you have now been inspired with products that can actually work in your home. If you hate it, the app removes the fear by making your life easy because you go into the store knowing exactly what you want. It’s finally time to throw away your measuring tape and start downloading your home.
Before
After
For the whole video, click here.
