Source: Radio New Zealand
IKEA’s first Auckland store opened on December 4. Marika Khabazi / RNZ
Homeware and furniture shops around Auckland and nearby regions appear to be losing some of their traffic to Swedish retail giant Ikea.
Data from Dot Loves Data shows that, as a category, home and furnishings is growing significantly.
Director Justin Lester said he could not comment on specific businesses but the total amount spent in the home and furnishing category in Auckland was $59.9 million in March, 5.82 percent up on the previous year.
People were travelling to Auckland to buy things in that category, he said. The total spend within Auckland by domestic visitors was up 72 percent in December compared to the year before. In March it was up 89 percent compared to March 2025.
In November 2025, before Ikea opened there was just over $7 million spent in Westgate on furniture and home furnishings. Just under $7m was spent in Mt Wellington. About $6m was spent in Glenfield, just under $5m in Newmarket, Just under $6m in Manukau and just over $6m in East Tamaki.
The next month, after Ikea’s opening on December, there was more than $20 million spent on total home and furnishings in Mt Wellington, and only just over $5m spent at most in other suburbs.
Inside Ikea’s warehouse. RNZ / Marika Khabazi
Lester said that trend had continued through the year. “It looks like Mount Wellington’s become a real hub within the Auckland precinct. It’s a real driver of the local economy there.”
Retail consultant Chris Wilkinson, from First Retail Group, said he would expect Ikea to have an anchoring effect, pulling shoppers in to the area.
But he said nearby retailers would benefit.
“You get inspired by what’s going on at Ikea… You might think, oh, I might like a little bit more style or I might like a little bit more whatever. So you go into Ikea but then perhaps you’re going to go to the Nick Scali afterwards, or you’re going to go to Freedom, or maybe availability is not there, so you’re going to look further.
“The anchor value of Ikea is incredibly significant.”
He said people would travel to Mt Wellington to shop. “When you are going to Ikea, you are very purposeful. This isn’t a place you just pop into and spend five minutes there. It’s not lie a normal strip business where you pop in, have a quick cast of your eye and go ‘yep it’s for me’ or ‘no it’s not’… people make a very determined decision and when they make determined decisions they’re purposeful and that typically results in a transaction.”
The Ikea display furniture. Supplied/IKEA
He said Ikea encouraged people to come back by having a range of things to pull them in, from meatballs and ice-cream to furniture, and ever-changing store displays.
“It really does keep people very sticky with the brand. And once you’ve got that habitual visitation, that’s starting to benefit everyone.”
He said people had been more focused on their homes and living environments since the pandemic.
“There’s been quite a shift in people’s mindset about the role of their houses because they’ve spent more time in them, more flexible working and all those aspects. It really has just changed the dynamic quite significantly. And of course, played into these nesting categories, as we would call them.”
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