How To: Self Service Furniture Shopping at Ikea Philippines

I'm 60% done with my work room/walk in closet project; I was finally able to buy all the cabinets I need and the final ones, I got them from Ikea Philippines.

Ikea is known for their "you're on your own" mode of shopping and for Filipinos like me who are used to just pointing at a piece of furniture and a lovely sales person will swoop in to assist and pull out the product for me, this may be a disappointing borderline intimidating experience especially since Ikea furniture are not sold as a whole--more often than not, they're dismantled and you have to find your way through the self- service furniture section.

So if you're wondering how to shop at the self- service furniture shopping area of Ikea Philippines, then this blog post is for you.

HOW TO: SELF SERVICE FURNITURE SHOPPING AT IKEA PHILIPPINES: A STEP BY STEP

Ikea Philippines is such a HUGE place, not to mention it is located at a pretty inaccessible part of the south (not unless you have a car) so if you go there without proper planning, you might end up disappointed like what happened to me the first time I visited.

So keep this guide and read it before going so you will have a breezy shopping experience.

STEP 1: DOWNLOAD THE IKEA APP AND LEARN IT

- I'll tell you this early that stocks for most of Ikea's popular furniture run low and unfortunately, you cannot reserve an item. Once the app tags the item as available, you need to drop everything and run to the store for at least a chance to bag the item.

So that's why you need to download the Ikea PH shopping app because it's heavily integrated in the Ikea shopping system helping make planning and shopping more convenient; the app serves as a membership and points wallet, home and lifestyle guide, promo and sale aggregator, and e-catalog with frequent updates on product stocks and availability.

After you download the app, register for an account. After you accomplish the registration, Ikea will email you an e-membership card.

Download the card and save in your phone. When you shop at Ikea, they will ask for this so you can claim your points at checkout. It's not mandatory though, but recommended so as you don't waste your points.

So how do you know which items are available and where to find them in the store? 

First, choose an item that you like.

Next, pay attention to the details boxed in red. It contains the following information:

Availability (says IN STOCK or OUT OF STOCK or NOT AVAILABLE)

Location of the item (says self- serve department. Other items are available in another level of the store)

Item code (the numbers in the black box. Since the furniture are boxed, most people forget what they look like and end up confusing them with other items in the sections so the item code serves as the unique indicator of each item)

Rack (or the aisle)

Section (location of the item on the rack)

P.S. If the app says that the item is in stock, then it's definitely in stock, but there's no guarantee that it will be when you get to the store. If the app says it's out of stock, then most likely it is. Heed the app.

Okay, so the item that you like is in stock. Now you're off to Ikea. This is how you finally snag that dream Ikea furniture of yours.

STEP 2: LOOK FOR THE RACK FIRST

If you already know what you want to buy, proceed to the third level of the store, which is the shopping area.

At the entrance of the Self- Service furniture area, there are flat carts that are specifically meant for the furniture. Get one of those.

The Rack refers to the huge, long racks lined beside each other and they eventually form aisles; these are like the aisles in supermarkets.

STEP 3: LOOK FOR THE SECTION

Now that you've located the Rack number of your item, then start looking for it in the sections. The section refers to an area of the rack where the product is displayed.

Now that you've located your exact preferred item in the section, the not so exciting part comes next: You need to pull it out by yourself. The Billy book case I got was freakishly heavy, but I had no choice because it was self- service.

But if you are pregnant, old, and suffering from bone/muscular disorders and problems, insist on getting help.

Just a tip, if you are buying tables, they are dismantled too so if you pick up the surface, don't forget the feet! But at least in the app, Ikea is smart enough to suggest the feet with the table surface when you add a table to your shopping list.

After picking up your items, pay for them and voila! You're done.

But what if the items you bought won't fit in your car? What if you don't want to bother DIY-ing the furniture because you have zero talent in construction like me? LOL.

No worries because Ikea has post- shopping services offered after check out.

Ikea offers the following services for bulky and furniture purchases:

Installation

Delivery

Installation + Store pick up

As for me, I opted for installation plus delivery because my cabinets can't fit in the car and I don't want to bother installing the cabinet myself. After checkout, I went to counter 8, which was Home Service, and I scanned the QR code to get a queue number and waited for my turn to be called.

Installation fee is 9% of the total cost of the items that you want to install.

Delivery fee depends on the size of the items and your location in the metro.

After paying for both services, the last step was to schedule the installation and delivery of the items. The delivery and installation team will arrive separately since they're from different departments, but you can schedule for both to come on the same day.

And that's how to do self service furniture shopping at Ikea Philippines! I hope you learned something from this post.

What was your experience with Ikea Philippines? Do share!