IKEA suddenly closing more stores amid concerning customer trend

It’s not exactly the prettiest time to be a retailer right now.

The past five years have wrought seemingly irreversible damage to even the strongest retail brands. 

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Covid, which swept the U.S. in early 2020, forced many people into their homes for prolonged periods of time. 

Suddenly, very few of us were driving to an office every day, going out to restaurants, concerts, or sports events. 

The world screeched to a halt. And this had outsized effects on the economy.

With fewer of us driving around or commuting, demand for everything from gasoline to button-down shirts decreased.

As Covid wore on, we adapted to these changes.

More people opted for loungewear and traded cars for walks around the block. More of us made coffee at home, prepared meals at home, and ordered a lot of our necessities from the comfort of our couch.

Customer behavior patterns have changed forever, and retail chains have been forced to follow the money. That means trying to meet customers where they are. 

And, increasingly, that is online.

Home retail chains are changing

Before the pandemic, some of the most popular brick-and-mortar stores were furniture and home decor chains. 

Whether they were planning a new space, welcoming a new family member, or simply needed a furniture upgrade, many people spent the weekend traipsing through a showroom.

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And, largely, these showrooms were considered necessary and convenient. They’d allow folks to test out everything, from dining room tables to nursery chairs to mattresses.

But when Covid struck, most of these stores closed down. So people adapted. They opted to shop instead at online retailers, like Wayfair. 

Fast shipping and easy returns helped to reduce friction to the online furniture world, so taking a risk on a pricey item became less daunting. 

Of course, this hurt many brick-and-mortar operations, and many have been forced to reduce their footprints as our online shopping habit sticks around.

IKEA closing stores

But some retail chains seem to defy the odds. 

IKEA, the Swedish chain known for discount furniture and reliable quality (if you have patience for the assembly instructions), has been growing steadily over the years. 

Customers enjoy winding through the massive, warehouse-style stores and often drive hours just to access the closest one.

IKEA has rolled out a new concept, called the Plan & Order Point, which allows more distant customers to come into a smaller-format location to plan out rooms, such as the living area or bathroom.

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These stores, which are often located in urban areas and range in size from 3,000 to 15,000 square feet, don’t function as physical stores where a customer can purchase and carry out inventory immediately. Instead, they can chat with specialists and plan out future purchases. 

But IKEA has announced it will shut down three Plan & Order Point stores — two locations in England and one in Long Beach, Calif. 

They are located at: 

• Aintree, Liverpool, UK
• Merseyway Shopping Centre, Stockport, UK
• Long Beach, Calif., U.S.

“There has been an increased demand for Click and Collect services, a desire to shop a smaller selection of home furnishing accessories, as well as the ability to return goods to physical IKEA units, something which, owing to the space available, the current location is unable to offer,” a spokesperson for IKEA said of the UK closures.

All are slated to close in June 2025.

IKEA is, however, planning to open several Plan & Order Point locations in 2025 and 2026, especially around the U.S.