Following today’s release of Ikea’s figures for the 52 weeks ending 31 August 2025; Matt Walton, senior retail analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view: “IKEA has reported another challenging year with sales declining by 2.1% its FY2024/25 as the tough economic conditions continued to weigh on its core, price-sensitive customer. Despite investing £117m in lower prices in the previous year, these customers’ discretionary incomes remain under significant pressure with many prioritising spending elsewhere. However, the furniture market leader may be starting to turn the corner, as it recorded a 3.3% uplift in sales for its Q4 FY2024/25 with this momentum continuing into September 2025. This marks an outperformance of the combined furniture & floorcoverings and homewares market for Q3 2025.
“The long-awaited opening of its new Oxford Street store contributed to its improvement in sales following a successful launch, with 1.34m visits during its first four months. Undoubtedly, footfall will have been bolstered by curious tourists, and this location helps IKEA overcome one of the main challenges for its stores: the inconvenience of its out-of-town locations. Given the time it takes to get an out-of-town IKEA store, the relative ease of getting to a more central location will make it more appealing to some shoppers who may not have considered it before. This store format is also a significant upgrade on the previous Order & Collect format, with a wider product range available to buy in-store. Should IKEA Brighton, which opened in mid-August, also achieve relative success, this format could be a significant breakthrough for IKEA.
”The challenging nature of in-store sales is further underlined by online’s continued buoyancy, with penetration up 2ppts to 43%. IKEA has invested in this channel as it continued to benefit from the greater capabilities provided by its new distribution centre in Dartford, Kent as well as offering lower delivery prices for IKEA Family members and opening a further 101 “Collect Near You” points. The extension of local collection points is a strong move for the retailer as it further improves convenience and makes IKEA more of a consideration for consumers buying homewares online, where delivery charges may have previously been a barrier.
“The prospects for IKEA are positive for the remainder of its FY2025/26. Its core customer is likely to remain under some financial pressure but figures from GlobalData’s consumer sentiment survey indicate that the proportion of shoppers who expect to spend more on furniture over the next six months is on an upwards trajectory. The improvement in housing transactions has also returned one of the main spurs to the market. For IKEA, getting a full year of sales from Oxford Street and Brighton, alongside other smaller format stores in Harlow, Norwich and Chester, will also provide a boost to sales as well its continued traction of its online offer.”
