B2 – Upper Intermediate
According to researchers, approximately 50 percent of purchases is unplanned. These purchases, especially from impulse buying, gives an opportunity for retailers to entice consumers to deviate from their shopping lists. One of the most effective ways to influence this is through a store’s architecture.
Architect Victor Gruen pioneered the first American shopping malls. He used light and space to dramatically stage goods in storefront windows. His designs were meant to capture the attention of passersby and convert them into customers. This conversion became known as the “Gruen effect.”
Watch the video below to learn how IKEA has mastered the “Gruen effect” and be able to answer the discussion questions:
Discussion Questions:
- Have you ever been to IKEA? How often do you go there?
- What are some products or items have you bought from IKEA?
- What do you think of IKEA? How do you feel when you are in their store?
- What impulse buys did you regret?
- What are ways to prevent impulse buys?
12 replies on “How IKEA Gets You to Impulsively Buy More?”
1. I love Ikea!. I’ve been there thousand times. I don’t have a store nearby, so every time i go to Madrid I go to ikea. maybe 4 times a year.
2. I have bought my kitchen furniture, my kids bed, when they were babies o bought the whole room there!
3. I think is a fantastic store , not only useful things , but also nice. I love it there, if I could i would stay all day.
4. I have bough curtains, that I have never hanged.
5. use a shopping list. that’s the only way to buy less in ikea. But I will always buy something else!!
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Have you ever been to IKEA? How often do you go there?
Yes, I love it. I usually go when I need something from home which is about every 3 months.
What are some products or items have you bought from IKEA?
Everything. I’ve furnished my house with IKEA several times, and then I also buy small decorative items and things for the kitchen or the bathroom.
What do you think of IKEA? How do you feel when you are in their store?
I love it but my boyfriend hates it, he says it’s a maze that makes you waste a lot of time.
What impulse buys did you regret?
I once bought some candles but then I never used them.
What are ways to prevent impulse buys?
Go with a list or on a tight budget.
Many thanks for leaving your answers to this lesson’s discussion questions here. Do not forget to be as elaborate as possible in your answers. Write more than 1 sentence for every response if you can.
Take a look at some minor revisions you can make in this sentence:
Great job practicing your writing!
1. Have you ever been to IKEA? How often do you go there?
I´ve been to IKEA several times. The last time I went there was two years ago when I move to my new apartment and I needed to buy some furniture. I remember that I had to go to IKEA a few days in order to choose what I wanted, and at the and I spent a lot of money because I bought lots of things.
2. What are some products or items have you bought from IKEA?
I bought a wardrobe, a TV table, some shelves, two beds, two beside tables, a mirror, etc.
3. What do you think of IKEA? How do you feel when you are in their store?
I love IKEA and if I don´t go there often is because I don´t want to buy more than I need, so better to avoid the temptation.
4. What impulse buys did you regret?
I use to buy clothes that I don´t really need and sometimes I never use them, so I regret to have bought them.
5. What are ways to prevent impulse buys?
The most effective way of avoiding impulse buys is not to go shopping, avoid your favorite webs, and in all cases, think twice if you really need that thing before buy it.
You can write well. Keep it up!
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Cheers to your next entries!
1. Yes IKEA is located in all huge city around my home but unfortunately for my purse there are seventy Kilometres. Consequently I going to at IKEA just one time per year.
2. We bought our kitchen then bedroom but also full of accessories as glasses, Venetian blinds, curtains.
3. They are very efficient to sell because of their offer very large but also their price quality-ration is good and be suitable to the bigger majority of people. Now with a little bit of hindsight I think your house set up only furniture of IKEA lacks of charm and look like to lot of another houses.
4. Effectively I regret to have bought a bed. It was beautiful and doesn’t expensive but don’t comfortable. The bed base is in wood very rigid and not flexible. It doesn’t matter I will reflect better the next time.
5. Do you have really need and do you have money ? and also keep a close eye on your wife. 🤣
Welcome to the Phoneenglish blog. We hope this exercise would be helpful as you continuously try to improve your writing skills.
Your response to question # 5 is so funny.
Anyway, see how you can write this sentence a bit better:
Keep going with your writing practice.
Have you ever been to IKEA? How often do you go there?
There’s an IKEA near my home so at least once a year I go there. I know that it’s not that often but for me is sufficient enough for a year if there is no need.
What are some products or items have you bought from IKEA?
I usually boy the typical stuff from IKEA, chairs, tables, wall paint, essential cutlery… In fact, I think that most of my home’s furniture came from IKEA. Thankfully the most of them were bought years ago and now it’s a matter of renewing the same stuff from time to time.
What do you think of IKEA? How do you feel when you are in their store?
I think that IKEA is a store designed by minotaurs, because once you’re inside you hardly can go outside again. It’s like a huge labyrinth! Jokes aside, IKEA is the point of reference to see, try and buy the stuff that
you’re looking for.
What impulse buys did you regret?
I mostly regret impulse buys from supermarket when I throw away food that I’ve bought while I was hungry. I’ve learned it the hard way and I try to avoid such impulses.
What are ways to prevent impulse buys?
The golden rule of preventing impulse buys is to stick to the shopping list. However, if it fails you could remember that the disposition of product is not casual, but is the result of marketing studies that make the consumer to buy more stuff. Once you’re aware of that, you’ll probably prevent such impulses. If all the above fails, just go shopping with a tight budget.
Interesting tips you shared on ways to prevent impulse buying. Thank you for answering our questions for this lesson.
Please take a look at this sentence and see how you can improve it.
Thankfully
themost of them were bought years ago and now it’s a matter of renewing the same stuff from time to time.1. Have you ever been to IKEA? How often do you go there?
Yes, I’ve been several times in Ikea. I use to go once or twice a year.
2. What are some products or items have you bought from IKEA?
I’ve bought many Ikea products, from different sort of furniture to office equipment or outdoor products like artificial plants, chairs, shelves,…
3. What do you think of IKEA? How do you feel when you are in their store?
I think Ikea is an interesting concept to do shopping. A new way to go to a mall and find whatever you want (even unneeded stuff). The experience of watching and touching is amazing and the prizes quite good. You can go around the store for a long time without being bothered by anyone
4. What impulse buys did you regret?
Nothing especially. Indeed I’ve bought some things that I didn’t have in my “to buy list” but nothing I regretted.
5. What are ways to prevent impulse buys?
I like to go shopping and look around as much time as I can but I always prepare a list of things I need and I avoid to buy things that there aren´t on the list. Well, sometimes I buy stuff I forgot to put on my list but I’m not an impulsive buyer at all.
It is clear that you put much thought and efforts in writing your responses. Well done!
Here are just a few minor corrections for you:
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on their sales strategies and your experiences shopping at Ikea.