The Ikea Effect

Recently I touched on the Diderot Effect, a pattern of buying stuff that has a sense of unity or identity. A pattern which basically will cost you an arm and a leg unless you rein it in!

Retailers know about the Diderot Effect and take full advantage of it in order to take full advantage of us and our wallets.

Join Together

Apple is an obvious proponent. Their products all have the same ‘it just works’ aesthetic and a very clear unified style. Diderot would approve I’m sure.

Ikea is another company that clearly uses the Diderot Effect to help us spend. They go as far as putting whole rooms together to suggest what we might buy. They literally assemble a collection of nice new things that complement each other.

They label things carefully too, putting products into branded groups. When we went to buy a set of drawers for my daughter not so long ago she chose something from the ‘Malm’ range. 

Of course there were lots of other complementary items from that particular range so it wasn’t long before we were back shelling out for a matching desk, matching chair and matching mirror.

Diderot has a lot to answer for.

Still I Can't Find My Way Home

A trip to Ikea means you have to endure its hellish, forced, one way, walk the whole labyrinthine layout system. I have to gee myself up for that ordeal but overall it’s usually a worthwhile visit.

Obviously, the meatballs are worth the trip alone but whenever we’ve been, the product we’ve purchased has solved a problem. So in my book it’s a worthwhile trip because of the long term benefit.

But the benefit isn’t immediate upon your purchase. The experience of buying something from Ikea doesn’t end, and the benefit begin, when you bring it through your front door. Oh, no, not at all. That’s actually when the main event begins.

Once it’s home you now have to make the thing. It’s definitely a challenge but as much as people like to moan about the terrible instructions I’ve always had good experiences.

I think it’s because I’m naturally really terrible at knowing how things work. I’m not mechanically minded so I don’t make any assumptions or take any shortcuts when assembling.

I really do read the instructions from start to end. And refer to them every thirty seconds to make sure I’ve got the right screw in the right hole on the right panel the right way up.

Doing this means the build generally goes well. It takes forever but I’ve got Spotify cranked up to fill the void and an array of allen keys and screwdrivers lined neatly on the carpet.

Slowly but surely the product takes shape, and after a matter of mere hours, where there was once simply an uninspiring, flat heavy cardboard box, there now stands a magnificent white piece of furniture, erect and standing proud.

What Have You Done Today To Make You Feel Proud?

Also standing proud is me. I’m aware that it’s not the Taj Mahal I’ve constructed, but it is an aesthetically pleasing and utilitarian item that solves a problem and makes my daughter’s life slightly better. 

And I made it all by myself!

What I’m experiencing at this point is actually called the Ikea Effect. It is a curious phenomenon that describes how people tend to value an object more if they make (or assemble) it themselves.

It’s a multiple whammy for the retailers for lots of reasons. They can save costs on storing flat items easily, store more of them and actually charge higher prices. Believe it or not, there’s good research that says consumers are willing to pay more for items they have to assemble themselves than furniture that is pre built.

Don’t believe me? Go visit a Build a Bear workshop.

Build A Rocket Boys!

In summary the Ikea Effect identifies that we like to feel that we’ve added something of value. When we do, we experience a sense of pride. We create a sense of ownership and responsibility.

How can we use the Ikea Effect to our advantage I hear you cry? Well, I’m glad you asked. There’s a couple of ways that I suggest. 

Firstly, on a personal level when you’re looking for motivation to get things started on a daunting project. 

Visualise the end product that you’re planning to achieve. What would that look like? How would it sound? What would it do? How would you or others respond to it? How would you feel having completed it?

Projecting forwards like this can inspire you and pre-remind you how proud you’re going to feel once it’s finished. Because you did it! And that can be a great way to motivate yourself to get going. 

Secondly, at an organisational level, considering the Ikea Effect is a great way to ensure you have involvement from your team.

And We Can Build This Dream Together

Successful groups always have commitment to a project and solid commitment is much more likely to occur if people have been involved in the decision making process. 

If you’re going to create a new product or a new service or a new policy or implement a change to the system then it’s a good idea to involve the people it will impact. 

If they were genuinely involved in the decision making process they can feel they were co-creators. They can rightly experience the Ikea Effect and feel involved, and perhaps proud of what they built. 

So this weekend go gather your allen key, a phillips screwdriver and a flat headed one too. Build a rocket!