IKEA is training call center personnel to become interior design experts to offer more home remodeling services and hand off simple client inquiries to Billie, an artificial intelligence bot.
After launching in Europe, Australia, and the UAE, IKEA expanded its interior design services to the UK and the US in April. Customers in the UK pay 25 pounds ($31.44) for a 45-60 minute interior design advice video call and product list or 125 pounds for three workplace design consultations, a floor plan, and 3D visualizations.
Since 2021, Ingka has trained 8,500 call center staff as interior design experts, while Billie, introduced the same year with a name inspired by IKEA’s Billy bookshelf series, has handled 47% of client calls.
“We’re committed to strengthening co-workers’ employability in Ingka, through lifelong learning and development and reskilling, and to accelerate the creation of new jobs,” said Ulrika Biesert, global people and culture manager at Ingka Group.
Biesert replied, “That’s not what we’re seeing right now.”
Ingka’s remote interior design channel generated 1.3 billion euros ($1.40 billion) in income in 2022, 3.3% of the total. Ingka Group told Reuters it wants to increase that proportion to 10% by 2028 to attract Gen Z customers.
Online sales via IKEA’s website, owned by Ingka, totaled 9.9 billion euros, or 25% of total sales in Ingka’s financial year ending Aug. 31, 2022.
Investing in digital services comes as IKEA embarks on a 2 billion euro expansion in the US. Last month, rival Wayfair launched a ‘Digital Design Studio,’ a kiosk where shoppers can experiment with furniture styles and layouts in a digital room rendering.
“It’s not surprising that IKEA are now focusing on virtual sales channels – if anything, the surprise is that it’s later than it could have been,” said Jocelyn Paulley, technology lawyer and co-head of Gowling WLG’s retail sector practice in London.
She added virtual services demand significant investment to precisely depict things’ colors, textures, and sizes and reduce returns.
