IKEA have released a new app to help add an interactive angle to their newly released catalogue. The app, available for smartphones and tablets, will unlock additional video/interactive content and photo galleries when used to scan a physical copy of the 2013 catalogue, specifically pages marked with the corresponding smartphone symbol. IKEA is hoping that the app inspires more people worldwide "create homes they love."
The move seems like a logical step for IKEA and catalogue culture in general, allowing browsers to get a better sense of the products they are interested in by showing them as more than a static image. Of course, there's no substitute for assessing a potential buy in person, but this catalogue app certainly helps to bridge that gap a bit.
However, it also feels a bit obsolete, or even self-defeating considering the traditional image of the IKEA shopping experience, in a massive megastore-cum-air hangar that encourages customers to browse at their own pace with cafes and such housed as well. Kudos to the furniture giants for taking a step forward and embracing some new technology that will surely benefit the consumer though.