The biggest mistakes people make when shopping at IKEA and how to avoid them

Do you love shopping at IKEA?

You are not alone.

On any given day, millions of people all over the world make their way to everyone’s favorite big blue box furniture store. Some might even be just there for the Swedish meatballs and other yummy dishes.

However, it’s not all a bed of roses when shopping at IKEA, and if you’ve never spent a bit of time optimizing your IKEA shopping experience, you can easily fall into a pit of shopping mistakes.

Because we’ve spent so much time there, we were able to narrow down the top mistakes to these seven, and how to avoid them:

1) They walk in with no plan

Some people go to IKEA having only a vague idea of what they want. Worse still, they go there to ‘window’ shop.

We all know how these trips (*cough overspent*) turn out.

There are plenty of places to window shop in this world, but take it from us: IKEA is not one of them.

It is a place to go with purpose, mission, and more importantly, a list of things that you actually need. For example, if you plan to get a bookshelf, you’ll need (we cannot emphasise this enough) to measure the space where you want this bookshelf to go so that you can decide if that beautiful IKEA bookshelf will fit in your room.

Once you’ve got your list of things you need in hand, you’ll be less likely to add everything that you don’t, to your cart. 

2) They don’t check the IKEA website beforehand

The Internet is a wondrous place, and the IKEA website is one of its many wonders. It’s especially useful for checking to see if what you need is in stock.

Write down the name of the products that interest you, and compare your options to see which will suit your home better.

You’ll be saving yourself a ton of time and legwork just by doing this.

3) They go at the wrong time

IKEA in the late morning and afternoon can feel like a battlefield. This is even more so if you live in a large city. Weekends at IKEA are also a bad idea if you’re allergic to crowds.

Generally, it is best to visit IKEA as soon as it opens in the morning, or at night the hours before it closes, ideally on weekdays. You can browse at a more leisurely pace without the crowd then.

If you already have a list to hit up IKEA with, you’ll be able to get everything you need without breaking much of a sweat, or your wallet.

4) They don’t use the shortcuts

If you’ve been to IKEA often enough, you’d know that it’s a huge space with plenty of people, and with what seems like endless sections dedicated to the different rooms in a home, you can end up somewhere you don’t need to be.

To avoid getting lost and make your trip as efficient as possible, try to plan your route ahead of time by locating the store map at the entrance. 

All those who wander are not lost. Yet, those who are in search of specific products (it helps to get familiar with their names and get them right!) will not want to wander too far from what they seek.

5)  They unknowingly buy items that are a difficult to put together

Some of us may be IKEA furniture assembly masters.

However, it is likely the majority of us find assembling these pieces difficult, tedious and not all that fun.

If you’re one of the latter, did you know that IKEA also offers an assembly service? You can book the product you want online (after checking it out in the store, if needed) and add the assembly service option as you check out.

You can also get this service at the store, so all you have to do is pick it out, book your delivery and assembly service, then head home and wait.

6) They’re not picky enough

IKEA has plenty of amazing products, but it also has products that aren’t great.

While IKEA has great sofas, shelving units and home decor accessories accessories, other items like their mattresses, dressers and bath towels are more of a miss than hit.

IKEA doesn’t post review of its products on its site, but a quick search online about the time you’re interested in should pull up enough information for you to make an informed (and smarter) decision.

7) They’re not putting their heart and soul into decorating

IKEA may be a great place to get basic furniture, but your home should have more than just the basics to showcase your personal style.

This is why instead of just grabbing the first thing you see, or worse, everything that comes with a room display, it pays to pick your pieces thoughtfully with a unique look in mind. 

If hacking your IKEA to personalize your pieces is right up your alley, then you should go ahead and do that to stand out from the crowd.

Want more great ideas for decorating an IKEA-inspired home? Get a copy of our FREE Timeless Living: How To Design A Classy IKEA-Inspired Home ebook.