IKEA’s first New Zealand store at Sylvia Park in Auckland welcomed over 500,000 visitors in its first 30 days since opening on 4 December 2025.
IKEA Sylvia Park marketing manager Johanna Cederlöf said the opening month elicited an “extraordinary response from New Zealanders.”
The store saw 28,780 shoppers on its busiest day, with an additional 1.9 million online visits. This pushed the Sylvia Park store to the top of IKEA’s global food sales rankings for the period.
IKEA Sylvia Park served over 54,000 hot dogs, 28,000 plates of meatballs, and 21,000 cinnamon buns. Demand for the chain’s signature lingonberry jam proved so high that it temporarily sold out.
On digital engagement, Cederlöf said 186,000 people joined the IKEA Family loyalty programme, alongside 141,000 app downloads in the first month.
For Cederlöf, Kiwis are “really advanced digital people.”
Despite strong demand, some customers ended up frustrated. One customer received only the legs of a desk and was charged a $79 delivery fee, while another was billed $69 in shipping for dining chair stickers.
The store announced last month that it would temporarily shut its customer support centre to prioritise resolving outstanding issues.
Meanwhile, the company expanded its local workforce beyond 550 staff to meet the surging demand, with 85 new hires added since the opening.