You walk into IKEA and find a room that is not finished. It is counting down. Each day the space changes again, styled with new catalogue products, like the store itself is teasing what is about to arrive.
That is the idea behind IKEA’s in-store Catalogue Countdown Room in Singapore and Malaysia. After previously re-imagining the 2013 catalogue with visual recognition technology that brought pages to life, this launch moment focuses on anticipation and theatre inside the store. It turns the catalogue release into a daily event that people can watch, not just pick up.
In practice, the countdown room is refreshed repeatedly as the countdown progresses, then broadcast live via IKEA’s Facebook presence so the excitement travels beyond the store floor.
In omnichannel retail marketing, the most repeatable “launch” pattern is to make one physical moment behave like media, then let social distribution carry it further than paid reach alone.
Why a countdown room beats “catalogue is here”
Catalogue launches usually arrive with a shrug. Everyone expects them, so attention is low. A countdown reframes the arrival as something you can miss, and that creates urgency. The room format also makes the catalogue feel less like a book and more like a living set of ideas you can step into.
What the mechanism is really doing
The room is a content engine. Each refresh creates a new “moment” for store visitors, and a new visual for social. This is why the idea scales. It can host small performances, demos, and micro-events without needing a different concept every day. The catalogue becomes the raw material.
What to steal for your next retail launch
- Build one stage that can change. A single physical space that transforms repeatedly generates content without extra production locations.
- Turn “arrival” into anticipation. Countdowns make routine drops feel like events.
- Design for shareable proof. The room should look different enough each day that people want to show the change.
- Let the store be the hero. When the in-store moment is genuinely interesting, social becomes documentation, not advertising.
A few fast answers before you act
What is the IKEA Catalogue Countdown Room?
It is an in-store installation that changes during a countdown to the new IKEA catalogue launch. The room is repeatedly restyled using catalogue products, and the changes are shared through social channels.
Why does a countdown create more engagement than a standard catalogue drop?
A countdown adds scarcity and rhythm. People know something is happening each day, so they return, check in, and talk about what changed instead of treating the catalogue as background noise.
What makes this an integrated campaign?
The same story runs across the store, social distribution, and supporting communications. The room creates the physical event. Social extends it beyond store visitors. The catalogue provides the content foundation.
What is the key lesson for retailers launching many new products at once?
Do not try to communicate everything at once. Create a single repeatable format that can spotlight different products over time, so attention compounds across multiple touchpoints.
What is the biggest risk with “live” retail content?
If the daily payoff is weak, people stop checking. The room needs visible change and a reason to watch each day, otherwise the countdown becomes decoration.
