Better CoLiving – reinventing IKEA for Gen Z

IKEA has always been an obvious choice for previous generations when starting their first family home or apartment. Compared to previous generations, Gen-Z have other habits, and they 'grow up' later than their parents did. Because of this, IKEA has an opportunity of offering value in new ways, providing Gen-Z with what they need also before establishing their home.

“We, as an industry, have an opportunity to support people on their journey towards a sustainable life. We can use our knowledge to do that and to develop our business along the way.”

Listening to the future generation

To better understand their younger – and future - customers and to be able to design services that are relevant to them, we’re working together with IKEA in a corporate startup format to gather insight from the Gen Zers. By talking to this group, gathering insight, and working in a co-creative manner, IKEA is now working to reinvent themselves. The result is innovation for smart and sustainable solutions that are relevant to Gen Zers but also have the potential to grow into services and products that are relevant to IKEA's customers in general.

“I had an aha-moment in the project working with EGGS when we in the process managed to "free" ourselves from what we thought we already knew about our customers."

Becoming an enabler of healthy and sustainable living

An essential part of the consumer market adapting to more sustainable operations is the shift from linear to circular value streams. Going from physical to digital products and services is part of the solution. The BetterColiving project does precisely this and can facilitate and improve the experience of living in a way that has less environmental impact. It also opens up the doors for IKEA to explore further innovation of services and digital products. Together, we're working on challenging the idea of what a home is and what role IKEA can play in helping people create one. Living comes in many forms, and health and well-being are essential to it. IKEA has the potential to be an enabler of healthy and sustainable living for people.

“We believe that a better home creates a better life. And that goes beyond the four walls of a house. A part of our transition journey will be to challenge the idea of what a home is and what it's made up of. It's not only the furniture. Perhaps that's the smaller part.”

Improving the social experience of co-living

Together with IKEA Global, using Norway as a pilot market, we are exploring the concept of BetterColiving (https://bettercoliving.no/). In this concept, IKEA identifies and creates services and digital products to help people improve the experience of living with others. The first product, which we are currently testing, is the app SVEN. The app has a unique collection of features designed to help you with communication, tasks, finances, and house rules.