IKEA launches live streaming sessions to enhance the Diwali shopping, here’s how they work

With people spending more time indoors during the past couple of years due to the pandemic, the home decor business has surged, with many firms recovering at least 80 per cent of pre-covid business as early as September 2020. In an age of influencers, viral interior design trends on TikTok are affecting how people envision changes in their homes. This is why IKEA has gone a step ahead from online sales, to roll out a platform where experts share ideas and inspirations through live-streaming sessions.

How does it work?

The Swedish home decor giant has launched its Live from IKEA service, where people can tune in to get advise on transforming their interiors, and also buy the products recommended by experts during the session. This is like taking a virtual tour of an IKEA store, which is curated by the best minds in the field, to make sure you get your redecoration right. With India’s Diwali demand in mind, IKEA has scheduled the next live streaming session for October 14th, to put the spotlight on its festive AROMATISK collection.

Betting more on tech

With this move, the brand wants to collaborate with consumers at the same time as they are getting walls repainted, curtains changed and furniture upgraded, as per Diwali traditions. Enhancing innovation among buyers for their interior, is also part of IKEA’s push to increase the use of technology for higher outreach among Indian consumers. Although the home decor brand has just five outlets in India so far, it has been taking online orders shortly after opening its first store in the country in Hyderabad.

Currently more than a quarter of IKEAs sales are coming from online orders, after they went up by 73 per cent in 2021. The steady growth has also prompted IKEA to place India among its emerging global markets.