‘The IKEA effect’ states that consumers place
increased value on products that they build themselves. In a recent study to
prove this effect, consumers assembled IKEA boxes, built sets of Legos and
folded origami. The results clearly showed an increased valuation in the minds
of the consumers because of the sunk costs of their time and labor investment. This was recently true in our case as well, since my wife needed a new wardrobe, and we went online to IKEA's website and first custom designed the wardrobe to fit our specifications. As our investment in this creation increased, we became more attached to it and were, unwittingly, pushed further down the marketing purchase funnel than we ever intended. We HAD to purchase this wardrobe.
My point is that the online space can be used very effectively to take advantage of this phenomenon. Dynamic interfaces, better graphics, more interactive websites and faster data speeds, lend themselves very naturally to the growth of 'The IKEA effect'. It is imperative that online marketers continue to use this medium to coerce end users further down the marketing funnel. There are several examples of this, not just with modular furniture, but also in a host of other industries. Nike, for example, allows consumers to design their own shoes on their nikeid.com site. Car companies allow consumers to design their perfect cars online. Apple allows consumers to engrave personal messages on their iPods. Of course, the most important aspect is the economics, since ‘the IKEA effect’ dictates that this increased valuation for self-assembled products also results in an increased willingness to pay!
My point is that the online space can be used very effectively to take advantage of this phenomenon. Dynamic interfaces, better graphics, more interactive websites and faster data speeds, lend themselves very naturally to the growth of 'The IKEA effect'. It is imperative that online marketers continue to use this medium to coerce end users further down the marketing funnel. There are several examples of this, not just with modular furniture, but also in a host of other industries. Nike, for example, allows consumers to design their own shoes on their nikeid.com site. Car companies allow consumers to design their perfect cars online. Apple allows consumers to engrave personal messages on their iPods. Of course, the most important aspect is the economics, since ‘the IKEA effect’ dictates that this increased valuation for self-assembled products also results in an increased willingness to pay!
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