Visiting homes to create better homes
We have a vision – to create a better life for as many people as possible. And we firmly believe a better life starts at home. But how can we stay in touch with what people actually need when the world around us is constantly changing?
The answer lies in being constantly curious. We want to know how people live, and what their frustrations, needs and dreams are. Each year, IKEA co-workers do hundreds of home visits around the world. The research we’re most proud of are the home visit interviews and Life at Home surveys. The two approaches complement each other. So far, we have collected insights from over 5,300 home visits across the globe. The data and insights collected then work as input when new IKEA products and services are developed.
The life at home insights also give us knowledge about our different markets’ unique needs, so that we can tweak our offer to meet the community’s specific cultures and traditions. For example, when we opened our first store in India, we added more flexible seating options to our home furnishing solutions, as we found out that families often visit each other (unannounced) and need somewhere to sit.
The IKEA Life at Home Report
We also work with different sorts of research methods and partners to collate insights from global surveys, our home visits, and interviews with experts, to create the IKEA Life at Home Report. We published our first report in 2016, and last year we shared the report publicly for the first time.
64% of people that participated in IKEA Life at Home research say they would rather live in a small home in a great location than in a big home in a less ideal location.