IKEA and Choice Architecture

"Environment design allows you to take back control and become the architect of your life." — James Clear

I’ve just moved to another apartment. It has some furniture, but not enough to make it cosy and functional. So yesterday I went to IKEA. In case you don’t know, IKEA is the go-to furniture store for Europeans. It has the three B’s, as we say in Spanish — bueno, bonito, barato (good, beautiful, cheap). That’s the good part.

Environment design

We arrived at around 2 pm and we bought no more than 10 different items. Guess what time we were done.

6 pm.

You may think I’m an inefficient customer, but no. We spent 4h wandering around a labyrinth. IKEA stores are evil. You can’t find anything unless you traverse the whole store. Do you want a lamp? Sure, but first you’ll have to check out some plants, kitchen tables, nightstands, and cutlery. Did you forget to buy a pillow? Such a pity, you’ll have to go through a thousand sections before you reach bedroom furniture. Now add crowds of people with shopping carts. Heaven.

Why is this relevant? Let me tell you another story first.

In the early 1990s, the cleaning staff at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam installed a small sticker that looked like a fly near the center of each urinal. Apparently, when men stepped up to the urinals, they aimed for what they thought was a bug. The stickers improved their aim and significantly reduced “spillage” around the urinals. Further analysis determined that the stickers cut bathroom cleaning costs by 8% per year.

— James Clear, Atomic Habits

These two stories have one thing in common — the environment drives behaviour.

IKEA’s inefficiency is intentional. By turning their stores into a maze, the Swedish company increases its bottom line. Furniture and home decor industries have a fertile ground for upsells. If you go to IKEA chances are you’re moving. If you’re moving, you need a lot of stuff. Even if you just want to buy a dining table, you’ll be interested in wooden spoons, pans, and a plethora of things.

Schiphol cleaning staff, on the other hand, cut costs by gamifying toilet affairs. How clever. Everyone knows men love to aim at stuff while peeing. If it’s at an annoying fly, then it’s even better.

The takeaway is designing your environment for whatever you want to accomplish. If you want to clean the kitchen more often, make your cleaning products obvious. Place them next to the stove. It’s not the best home decor, I know, but it’s useful.

IKEA Effect

IKEA furniture is sold unassembled. You need to assemble it at home. This is a great test for any relationship. Do you think you’re made for each other? Wait until you assemble furniture together. Jokes aside, this is also a smart play by the Swedes. Not only do they cut costs, but they make you like their products better.

If you spend time screwing screws and nailing nails, it feels like you crafted something yourself. And we love the things we make ourselves. Michael Norton, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely further explore this effect on this study:

Participants saw their amateurish creations – of both utilitarian and hedonic products – as similar in value to the creations of experts, and expected others to share their opinions. Our account suggests that labor leads to increased valuation only when labor results in successful completion of tasks; thus when participants built and then destroyed their creations, or failed to complete them, the IKEA effect dissipated.

There is an important condition though. The IKEA effect only happens when you manage to assemble the furniture. If you fail at it, chances are you’ll feel frustrated.

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Have you ever assembled your own furniture? Did you notice the IKEA effect?

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Photo of the week

After my trip to IKEA, I became a plant dad. This one is my desk companion, but I intend to buy bigger ones. I hope they don’t die.