Since the COVID-19 pandemic, stock shortages have worsened globally. This has also affected IKEA and its customers, resulting in canceled orders and items remaining unavailable for an indefinite time. The complexity of this issue and the many ways it affects IKEA customers has made it a priority to address, leading to this research.
To create a broad understanding of how customers perceive and experience stock unavailability and to evaluate the effectiveness of IKEA’s current ‘unavailable’ solutions.
I reviewed prior internal knowledge, then spoke with customers and co-workers across several markets, in-store and online. I compiled desk and field findings into a report with share-out sessions tailored to relevant teams.
In the short-term, this research informed several A/B tests for quick online improvements. In the long-term, it built a framework for internal teams to continue mitigating customer-facing stock availability issues.
This case study is confidential. For more information, contact me.