Ikea Launches Ikea Place, A New AR App That Lets You ‘Place’ Furniture in Your Home

Recently, 72andSunny Amsterdam collaborated with Ikea as the brand launched its augmented reality App 'Ikea Place', which is available from 10 am PT/6 pm GMT today on Apple's App Store. 

Ikea Place marks a significant milestone in the Ikea digital transformation journey and kickstarts a shift in the way retail furniture will be purchased. The AR app helps consumers focus on the fun part of experimenting with the design of the space, removing the gap between imagination and reality. In the future, the app will also play a key role in the launch of new product lines.

To launch Ikea Place, Inter Ikea Systems partnered with Space10 and TWNKLS for the User Experience and development of the app. 72andSunny Amsterdam developed the strategy, comms planning, and creative assets for the BETA launch, which includes a series of films, GIFs, social content and blog post. 

The short films and social content highlight the key features available on Ikea Place, demonstrating how it opens a world of possibilities, putting your imagination to play through augmented reality and letting you experiment without the risk of returns or wrong turns.

“It’s been fascinating and wonderful to work alongside Ikea as they navigate this next chapter in their digital transformation story. Augmented reality has the potential to quickly change established behaviors and Ikea Place is a leading example of both the simplicity and potential AR can offer. Not only have we been able to partner with a much-loved global brand, we have had the opportunity to help them humanize some cutting-edge technology; that’s the sort of work we relish at our Place”, says Simon Summerscales, Director of Communications Strategy, 72andSunny Amsterdam. 

Ikea has always been committed to making affordable, beautiful and functional design available to the many people. Today, the global retail brand is putting technology at the heart of its mission with the launch of Ikea Place, an augmented reality (AR) application that allows people to virtually “Place” Ikea products into their spaces. Ikea Place automatically scales products based on room dimension with 98% accuracy, allowing people to make more confident decisions,​ ​and​ ​making​ ​the​ ​purchase​ ​process​ ​simpler​ ​and​ ​stress-free. 

Initially built on Apple’s recently unveiled ARKit technology, Ikea Place was launched during the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, one of most anticipated moments of the tech and innovation​ ​industry.​ ​​The​ ​app​ ​will​ ​roll​ ​out​ ​globally​ ​on​ ​iOS11​ ​starting​ ​September​ ​19​ ​in​ ​the​ ​USA. 

“​Ikea Place makes it easier to make buying decisions in your own Place, to get inspired and try many different products, styles, and colors in real-life settings with a swipe of your finger. Augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game changer for retail in the same way as the internet. Only this time, much faster,” says Michael Valdsgaard, Leader Digital Transformation​ ​at​ ​Inter​ ​Ikea​ ​Systems. 

More than 2,000 Ikea products will be available in the app at launch. The products in the first release will focus on larger furniture products for the living room: all sofas, all armchairs, all footstools, all coffee tables and top-selling storage solutions that can be Placed on the floor. Some of the most recognized Ikea products are available on Ikea Place, including the VIMLE sofa,​ ​the​ ​STRANDMON​ ​winged​ ​chair,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​LISABO​ ​side​ ​table.

The AR technology is so precise that you will be able to see the texture of the fabric, as well as how light and shadows are rendered on your furnishings. In addition to digitally placing Ikea products in a room, the app allows people to capture the setting in the app and share as an image​ ​or​ ​video​ ​with​ ​friends.

Assembly led the media and investment strategy for the launch including development of a toolkit for consistency across markets and a data blueprint for performance evaluation. Allison+Partners was responsible for developing the global public relations strategy, as well as media​ ​relations​ ​implementation​ ​to​ ​support​ ​the​ ​launch​ ​of​ ​Ikea​ ​Place.