Or the other obvious step (once 3D goggles mature) of replacing the physical shop with an online shop. Or combine the two: instead of you visiting IKEA's virtual shop, the virtual items are sent to you and rendered in 3D and overlayed on your existing room, so you can walk around the item and see what it looks like in your own room. You then press the "buy" button and it is delivered.
Fun and games then ensues when people figure how to dump the information from IKEA to their 3D printers.
> Or the other obvious step (once 3D goggles mature) of replacing the physical shop with an online shop.
I'm not sure they'd ever do that. They want you in their stores. Their stores are structured so that you have to go through everything and see everything and activate that "nesting instinct."
"Hmm, I want a chair, but that cutting board is really nice... and there's a knife block that matches it. And I guess I'll get some storage containers too. Might as well get lunch while I'm here."
A virtual store could also deliver in that department though, in that knife blocks and storage containers could always be situated in the neighbouring department, no matter what the customer was actually looking for. The accessories and decorations in each in-virtual-store display could also be tailored on a per customer basis, depending on what Ikea knows about the customer. "Nice table, and I really like the placemats they have used on it...". One can imagine Ikea providing a "buy the lot" option in their payment process.
The have an online store in several countries. I've heard from people who work there they're not expanding the trial due to shipping not working with their slim margins (paying for one person returning a sofa ruins the profitability).
Then they wouldn't have an online store either, and they do. I think an online 3D shopping experiment would work for them. Otherwise the competition will go that way and they would be leapfrogged.
Fun and games then ensues when people figure how to dump the information from IKEA to their 3D printers.