Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
Ikea has announced the launch of Ikea Place: an augmented reality (AR) app that allows people to virtually place furniture in their home.
All of the products in Ikea Place are 3D and true to scale, so customers can choose products that are exactly the right size.
The Swedish retailer said: ‘Built on Apple’s new ARKit technology, Ikea Place marks an important milestone in our digital transformation journey. Ikea is one of the first home furnishing brands in the world to bring this technology to people, changing the way we purchase furniture in the future.’
More than 2,000 Ikea products will be available initially in the app. The first release will focus on larger furniture for the living room such as sofas, armchairs, footstools, coffee tables and shelves.
The app will automatically scale products – based on room dimensions – with 98% accuracy. Ikea said the AR technology is so precise that users will be able to see the texture of the fabric, as well as how light and shadows are rendered on furnishings.
In addition, the app allows customers to capture the setting, and share it as an image or video, to get a second opinion. They can then purchase the products directly through their local Ikea website in the app.
Michael Valdsgaard, leader of digital transformation at Inter Ikea Systems, said: “Ikea Place makes it easier than ever before to make buying decisions – all with a swipe of a finger. Augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game changer for retail in the same way as the internet – only this time, much faster.’
