Ikea launches Place app on Android, adds visual search tool

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 19, 2018

Ikea has launched its augmented reality Place app, which allows users to see how furniture and other Ikea pieces would look in their space, on Android with a series of new features.

3D representations of more than 3,200 products are available to experiment with on the app, which was previously available exclusively for iOS. From sofas and lighting to beds and wardrobes, users can use the app to ‘try’ and see if the pieces are the right size and design.

“When we first launched Ikea Place, we gave our customers the opportunity to ‘try before you buy’ for the first time since Ikea was established. Customers truly appreciate that and we are now helping them to create a better life at home using our AR technology. Today’s release is about bringing the ease of Ikea Place to over 100 million Android devices”, says Michael Valdsgaard, Leader of Digital Transformation at Inter IKEA Systems. 

A range of new features has been added to the app, including a new visual search tool powered by Grokstyle. This allows people to take a picture of any furniture they see with their phone to find similar or matching Ikea products through the app.

“Barriers between the digital and physical world are disappearing fast. To keep pace with that change, we focus on opening up new ways for people to access Ikea, wherever they are”, Valdsgaard continues.

The Android launch will further accelerate Ikea’s ongoing expansion, helping the retailer reach more customers in the online space. Whilst the company operates a vast physical presence with 355 stores in 29 countries, online continues to be key part of its strategy. Ikea gave its store app a facelift in 2017, launching a series of new features like in-store navigation.

Additionally, online shopping at Ikea is now possible in most Ikea group markets, following the opening of eight new fulfilment centres in Europe and the US in 2017 to cope with growing demand. 18 more are expected to follow this year.