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Review Retailing view 18.2 about customer service at IKEA. How does this retailer utilize a self-service model as a competitive advantages strategy, compared to traditional furniture stores?

Review Retailing view 18.2 about customer service at IKEA. How does this retailer utilize a self-service model as a competitive advantages strategy, compared to traditional furniture stores?

Principles Of Marketing
Principles Of Marketing
17th Edition
ISBN:9780134492513
Author:Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary (gary M.)
Publisher:Kotler, Philip, Armstrong, Gary (gary M.)
Chapter1: Marketing: Creating Customer Value And Engagement
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1.1DQ
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  1. Review Retailing view 18.2 about customer service at IKEA. How does this retailer utilize a self-service model as a competitive advantages strategy, compared to traditional furniture stores?
RETAILING VIEW IKEA a global furniture retailer based in Sweden, employs a concept of service unlike that of traditional furniture stores. The typical furniture store uses a showroom to display some of the merchandise the retailer sells. Complementing the in- store inventory are books of fabric swatches, veneers, and al- ternative styles from which customers can order. Salespeople assist customers in going through the books. When a cus- tomer makes a selection, the order is placed with the factory, and the customized furniture is built and delivered to the cus- tomer's home in six to eight weeks. This system tailors the furniture to the specific customer's preferences, but it in- creases costs and prices. Sales associates need to spend time with customers, helping them "design" the furniture they want retailers need to recover the cost of delivering the furniture to the customers' homes; and customers must wait weeks to get the furniture. 18.2 Customer Service at IKEA In contrast, IKEA uses a self-service model based on exten- sive in-store displays and information. At information desks in the store, shoppers can pick up a map of the store, plus a pen- cil, order form, clipboard, and tape measure. Every product available is displayed in over 70 roomlike settings throughout the 150,000-square-foot warehouse stores. Thus, customers don't need a decorator to help them picture how the furniture will go together. Adjacent to the display rooms is a warehouse with ready-to-assemble furniture in boxes that customers can pick up when they leave the store. After studying displays, cus- tomers proceed to a self-service storage area and locate their selections using codes copied from the sales tags. ap- Although IKEA uses a "customers do it themselves" proach, it also offers some services that traditional furniture stores do not, such as in-store child care centers, restaurant IKEA effectively uses standardized services through its signage and information in displays and on the merchandise. Final Clar serving fast food, and extensive information and displays about the quality of the furniture. Toddlers can be left in a supervised room filled with 50,000 brightly colored plastic balls. There are changing rooms in each store, complete with bottle warmers and disposable-diaper dispensers. Displays cover the quality of products in terms of design features and materials, with dem- onstrations of testing procedures. Sources: "Ar IKEA, Kids Play in Free Day Care as Parents Shop in Peace." Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2009; Bo Edvardsson and Bo Enquist Values-Based Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA (Oxford. UK: Routledge, 2008): www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service splash.html (accessed Jun 2010)
Transcribed Image Text:RETAILING VIEW IKEA a global furniture retailer based in Sweden, employs a concept of service unlike that of traditional furniture stores. The typical furniture store uses a showroom to display some of the merchandise the retailer sells. Complementing the in- store inventory are books of fabric swatches, veneers, and al- ternative styles from which customers can order. Salespeople assist customers in going through the books. When a cus- tomer makes a selection, the order is placed with the factory, and the customized furniture is built and delivered to the cus- tomer's home in six to eight weeks. This system tailors the furniture to the specific customer's preferences, but it in- creases costs and prices. Sales associates need to spend time with customers, helping them "design" the furniture they want retailers need to recover the cost of delivering the furniture to the customers' homes; and customers must wait weeks to get the furniture. 18.2 Customer Service at IKEA In contrast, IKEA uses a self-service model based on exten- sive in-store displays and information. At information desks in the store, shoppers can pick up a map of the store, plus a pen- cil, order form, clipboard, and tape measure. Every product available is displayed in over 70 roomlike settings throughout the 150,000-square-foot warehouse stores. Thus, customers don't need a decorator to help them picture how the furniture will go together. Adjacent to the display rooms is a warehouse with ready-to-assemble furniture in boxes that customers can pick up when they leave the store. After studying displays, cus- tomers proceed to a self-service storage area and locate their selections using codes copied from the sales tags. ap- Although IKEA uses a "customers do it themselves" proach, it also offers some services that traditional furniture stores do not, such as in-store child care centers, restaurant IKEA effectively uses standardized services through its signage and information in displays and on the merchandise. Final Clar serving fast food, and extensive information and displays about the quality of the furniture. Toddlers can be left in a supervised room filled with 50,000 brightly colored plastic balls. There are changing rooms in each store, complete with bottle warmers and disposable-diaper dispensers. Displays cover the quality of products in terms of design features and materials, with dem- onstrations of testing procedures. Sources: "Ar IKEA, Kids Play in Free Day Care as Parents Shop in Peace." Orlando Sentinel, July 15, 2009; Bo Edvardsson and Bo Enquist Values-Based Service for Sustainable Business Lessons from IKEA (Oxford. UK: Routledge, 2008): www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/customer_service splash.html (accessed Jun 2010)
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