Heads up Westies, IKEA is finally coming to your neighbourhood.
With 2 blue-box warehouses in Tampines and Alexandra, IKEA is bringing its Scandanavian furniture and meatballs to Jurong, and this time with a twist.
Officially opening on Thursday (29 Apr), IKEA Jurong is Southeast Asia’s first ‘small-store’ that’s located in a shopping mall, i.e. Jem.
The futuristic outlet has cashless self-checkout counters, touchscreen way-finders and a click & collect bistro that allows you to order signature dishes online and dabao back.
We’ve toured the place to give you an idea of what to expect if you’re planning to head down over the long weekend.
Located inside Jem, the massive 6,500 sq m outlet spans 3 storeys.
You’ll be greeted at various points in-store with interactive touchscreen directories that make navigating around more fuss-free.
You can also check out all models of any furniture, despite not being on display, on the new Width-and-Depth tablets scattered around.
The novel gadgets even allow you to Design-Your-Own (DIY) furniture by dragging and assembling various parts on-screen.
Departing from traditional counters, co-workers at IKEA Jem will be walking around with a tablet to offer you on-the-spot assistance.
So you can take measurements, discuss home designs, and place your order at one go without having to go back to counters.
Further upping the digitalisation game, IKEA Jem is a cashless store that has self-checkout counters on every level.
You can choose to drop in on any level to get what you need, be done and check out, without having to go through the entire store.
Moreover, monitors above the self-checkouts tell you how crowded counters on every level are, so you can skip the queue by simply going to a different floor.
Of course, the store has built-in lifts and escalators so moving across storeys won’t be much of a hassle.
Another new feature has to be the showrooms in the IKEA Jurong outlet.
Located beside every showroom is a small interactive screen with a doorbell. Press it, and you’ll see a self-intro from the ‘family’ that lives in the unit.
This will give you a better idea of the profile of families suited for the designs of every showroom.
And of course, there’s the highly anticipated IKEA cafeteria that many Singaporeans know and love.
The IKEA Jem outlet, due to space limitations, will have a downsized cafeteria. No thanks to the pandemic, it can only accommodate up to 160 pax for now.
But in case you don’t manage to chope a table during peak hours, not to worry.
Simply scan the QR code to place an order online. You can also select the time slot for your pick-ups.
The store also comes with an automated ice cream machine, so you can tap any credit or debit card, and make your own Swedish ice cream.
Despite its limited space, families visiting IKEA will still have a play station for their kiddos with interactive dinosaur paintings.
IKEA Jem is officially opening tomorrow (29 Apr). If you are one of the first 500 visitors, you’ll get a customised IKEA carrier bag.
Can’t wait to check it out? Well, it’s located inside Jem shopping mall, right beside Jurong East MRT station.
IKEA Jurong @ Jem Shopping Mall
Address: 50 Jurong Gateway Rd, #02-12/13/14, #03-15/16/17, #04-20/21/22, Singapore 608549
Opening Hours: 10am-10pm daily
Nearest MRT: Jurong East station
Jio your family and friends in the West, and head down to check out the store together!
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at hello@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image by MS News.
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