As it reconfigures its presence in the United States to reach consumers in new ways, Ikea has literally rolled out a new off-to-college promotion that acts as a mobile showroom.
Ikea has been developing formats to serve communities where adding one of its full-sized showrooms wouldn’t make sense, such as its Plan and Order Point with Pickup locations. Ikea planned four such locations for 2024 one each in Austin and metro Atlanta and the two in the Los Angeles area.
The featured element in the company’s annual dorm promotional push, the inaugural Ikea Ready for College bus tour, is a new initiative developed to familiarize consumers with ways to shop its assortment without the journey through a full-sized store. The tour will hit 30 college campuses across the country throughout late summer and early fall, the company stated. Inside a customized, branded school bus, Ikea has created a walkable showroom outfitted with popular products in campus living vignettes. Activations at each tour stop will include the Home Away from Home walkable showroom, plant giveaways and a planting station, a Frakta Bag Bar, a custom-made Dala horse reflecting Swedish folk tradition, and other attractions.
Students who attend tour colleges can step in and learn more about the range of Ikea dorm-ready offerings, the company noted. A corresponding landing page on the Ikea website, which it identifies as the last stop on the college tour, offers bedroom, storage, food prep and transport, living room and “selfie” stations similar to the bus vignettes, with the selfie stations, including items such as the Poang armchair, the Snodjup decorative light and artificial plants.
