More than a quarter of IKEA sales took place online in 2021 and increased by 73%. “Moving beyond the catalogue allows us to focus our time and resources towards making our omnichannel vision a reality,” says Jon Abrahamsson Ring, CEO Inter Ikea Group, the Ikea franchise business. Read more about the strong e-commerce growth for IKEA.
A press-release from the Swedish world-famous IKEA announced strong retail sales of EUR 37.4 billion for the financial year 2021, an increase of 6.3% compared to last year (EUR 35.2 billion in FY20). Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the company continues to invest in becoming more accessible digitally and physically, more affordable and truly sustainable – to better meet the needs and dreams of its customers.
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5 billion visitors
While 26% of sales were online in the latest year, 71% took place in stores and 3% were through services. During the year the retailer stopped producing the IKEA catalogue, in response to shoppers’ changing behavior. Its online channels welcomed more than 5 billion visitors.
The pandemic has impacted the already fast-changing retail environment with restrictions and closures, leading Ingka (Ikea Inter Group, the Ikea franchise business) to accelerate its digital transformation. Transforming stores to serve also as fulfilment units, as well as a revamp of IKEA.com and further roll-out of the IKEA app, are major reasons for the growth.
In December 2020, IKEA made the decision to stop printing its famous catalog.
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Growing despite COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a lot of offline stores had to close and IKEA had to focus on its online presence. “I’m really proud of the past year – we have grown as a business, as leaders and as people. Despite leading in the unknown, we continued to show incredible commitment and entrepreneurship with a clear ambition to create a better IKEA. All IKEA colleagues are a part of this success and as times continue to be challenging it’s important that we continue to keep the spirit of optimism and courage,” said Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka Group.
During the year IKEA opened 45 new shops, including its first sites in Mexico and Slovenia, and plans to open nearly 60 in the current financial year – and then open an average of 50 new shops a year in 17 markets by the end of its 2023 full year. “All our customers can touch and try IKEA products before they buy,” says Abrahamsson Ring and continues, “At Ikea, we want to be affordable for as many people as possible. Despite rising costs, we’ll continue to provide great, responsibly-produced products at the lowest possible prices.”
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Socializing has changed dramatically
Throughout the last year, the way people live, work and socialize has dramatically changed and the need for multifunctional and clutter-free living spaces has increased. The company sees a higher demand for workplace furniture, outdoor furniture and storage solutions.
Even though the company managed to grow substantially, it also experienced some struggles in the past year. Keeping stores and warehouses stocked was a challenge. It is still recovering from a substantial drop in availability, and the company expects that this will continue far into 2022.
Read more about how life at home is changing in the newly released IKEA Life at Home Report 2021
Strong E-Commerce Growth For IKEA, written by Tor Kjolberg
All images © IKEA Foundation