In a significant departure from its traditionally labyrinthine store format, IKEA is developing plans for a linear retail concept, aiming to streamline the customer journey and mitigate long-standing navigation issues within its outlets.
The proposed store, currently slated for an unconfirmed location will extend nearly 2 km in length, maintaining IKEA’s operational program while completely reimagining spatial organisation. An architectural rendering reveals a long, uninterrupted volume clad in the brand’s iconic blue and yellow palette.
Designed to operate on a single ground-floor plane, the layout follows a sequential, point-to-point model: customers will enter at one end and progress in a straight line through a series of well-defined retail zones, starting with furniture showrooms, followed by the marketplace section, the self-service warehouse, and ultimately the checkout counters.
To optimise accessibility and reduce physical fatigue, particularly over such an extended length, a hop-on, hop-off travelator system will be installed. This feature responds directly to focus-group feedback emphasising the need to minimise walking distance while retaining the immersive IKEA experience.
“With the rise of digital maps, GPS and the very real fact that people barely look up from their phone screens anymore, we’re finding that people don’t seem to have navigation skills that they used to,” explained Tolga Öncü, IKEA’s Head of Retail. “Our solution is to build a store that it is impossible to get lost in.”
The food court, a hallmark of the IKEA experience, will be positioned at the midpoint of the store, offering a pause in the customer journey. A dedicated “fast lane” travelator will allow visitors seeking only dining services to bypass the full shopping route. While the spatial organisation has shifted, IKEA remains committed to certain environmental and experiential constants. The new prototype will omit windows, as per standard practice, to maintain full control over lighting and shopper focus. “We don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater,” said Öncü. “We want it to still be a recognisable IKEA experience.”
The decision to overhaul the store format follows internal analysis and anecdotal reports highlighting disorientation among customers. A particularly notable incident reportedly involved a shopper becoming trapped after store hours, having sought refuge in a basket of plush toy snakes amid navigational confusion, an event which appears to have prompted a renewed urgency within IKEA’s executive leadership to innovate.
This linear store typology marks a strategic evolution in IKEA’s global retail architecture, reflecting contemporary user behaviour and an increased emphasis on clarity, accessibility, and time-efficiency, without sacrificing brand identity or experiential richness.
