Visiting the IKEA Pop-Up Experience in Downtown Toronto
By Simon Hung
May 16, 2016Last week, we wrote about the IKEA Pop-Up Experience that was coming to Downtown Toronto from May 13 to 26. The idea of a food-related IKEA store had our curiosity, but the news of free meatball samples got our attention. Since the RedFlagDeals global headquarters is only a five-minute walk away, we decided to pay the store a visit to see what the pop-up space had to offer.
Upon entry, you’re greeted by a concierge who instructs you to take one of dozens of wooden spoons that adorn a wall. The spoon acts an ingenious virtual shopping cart, as they're embedded with RFID chips that you use to shop for items scattered throughout the space. There are four shelves in the store with about 50 total kitchen-related products available for sale.
The space consists of six themed areas, each dedicated to a food-related area in a typical home -- the dessert room, the hosting room, pantry, the living room, patio and kitchen. In typical IKEA fashion, there are arrows along the floor to guide you, but the space is completely open and not designed as a maze like in full-sized IKEA locations.
The Dessert Room
This area is the first room that you encounter and contains a tea-party setup for kids and a tub of free chocolate samples. You’re instructed to try a few, but that didn’t stop many patrons from devouring handfuls of chocolate. The samples were quite delicious and the price was right, so we weren’t going to tattle. Here, you’re able to purchase 20 baking supplies including baking trays, measuring cups, full-size chocolate bars, muffin mixes and a free dessert recipe book.
The Hosting Room
Next, you’ll make your way to the hosting room, which also serves as the checkout area of the store (more on that later). Here, there are a couple of tables with various tabletop set-ups featured on the tables themselves and on the adjoining wall. In this section, you’re able to purchase 11 assorted tableware products and utensils.
The Pantry
Connected to the hosting room is a tiny alcove for the pantry. It’s a small space that accommodates no more than two people and there’s not much in here other than a couple of small carts and storage solutions. There are 11 more items in this area available for purchase, including napkins, food storage accessories and a free guide with planting tips and tricks.
The Living Room
The living room space is devoted to helping you discover your urban green thumb, with an interactive greenery display featured in the centre of the room and bench seating along the windows. One wall in the room features a seed display, where you can get small packets of free seeds to start your personal herb garden. You can get parsley, dill, basil and sage seeds, although only parsley and sage were available when we visited.
The Patio
The only area in the pop-up experience without freebies or items for purchase, the patio area is bright and vibrant with a mock patio set-up to provide you with patio design inspirations for the next time you host an outdoor get-together.
The Kitchen
The kitchen is the most exciting room in the pop-up experience, as this area features a fully-furnished IKEA kitchen, including the best part of the space -- IKEA meatball samples. You have your choice of two meat, two veggie or one of each, and it was by far the most popular area in the pop-up experience. You’ll also find a virtual-reality station where you can view an IKEA kitchen using VR goggles. There are also 12 more items you can purchase, including a cutting board, frozen meatballs and a free IKEA recipe book.
The Buying Experience
A throwback to full-service stores of the past, the spoon you took at the beginning of your journey acts as your shopping cart. To purchase an item, you can tap on the blue icon next to your desired product and a blue light will flash to indicate that it’s been added to your cart. Tapping on any of the free recipe books will do the same.
Once you’re ready to pay, you can head over to the checkout area and tap your spoon onto a small placard to initiate checkout. From there, a cashier will help verify your order and a clerk will retrieve your items from their backroom. If you tapped on any of the free recipe books, you’ll have to enter your e-mail address as they’re delivered digitally as a PDF. Once you pay via credit or debit (no cash is accepted), you’re done! You can also grab a free 2016 kitchen or wardrobe brochure on your way out, along with a few more handfuls of chocolate samples.
While you can't purchase any furniture and product selection is fairly limited, it was interesting to see what IKEA had to offer in the pop-up space and is definitely worth a visit if you happen to be in the neighbourhood and craving some free chocolate or meatballs.
If you want to see the IKEA Pop-up Experience first-hand, the store is located at 363 King Street West until Thursday, May 26, from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM on weekdays and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on weekends (the store will be closed on Victoria Day). On the other hand, if you'd rather visit a full-sized IKEA store, be sure to read our guide with tips on how to shop at IKEA like a pro!
Showing 2 Most Recent Comments
View all