IKEA Family is a membership program, like grocery store memberships. The only real feature of the program was their 5% discount. But now, they are getting rid of it to focus on “New Lower Price offers”. I’m not holding my breath that their prices are going to come down anytime soon.

IKEA Family is worthless now. They do offer “select delivery options” with no explanation on what this means.

Source

  • Ghostalmedia
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    7 months ago

    Is this actually “shrinkflation?”

    The phrase literally comes from product manufacturers who shrink the volume of their product and sell it for the same price.

    This is basically a crappier loyalty program.

    • @theragu40
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      7 months ago

      I think colloquially people have begun expanding use of the word to include anything where features or product are removed but the price stays the same.

      Maybe there’s a better word for that, but I understand the parallel.

      • Ghostalmedia
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        127 months ago

        Isn’t this loyalty program free like many others?

        • Ready! Player 31
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          187 months ago

          You don’t pay cash for it, but it takes up your time and IKEA gets your data and is allowed to send you spam. So kinda free, but also not.

          • @Th3D3k0y
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            27 months ago

            This is the worst 0 dollars I’ve spent

    • The Pantser
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      327 months ago

      Lack tables are now 20% smaller

      • @Batman
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        357 months ago

        They were full sized tables but then Bobby dropped them

        • Alto
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          197 months ago

          Dammit lil bobby tables, not again

          • @Batman
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            107 months ago

            That boy ain’t right

        • @7u5k3n
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          37 months ago

          This is the loss right here… those tables were perfect and apparently they no longer are. Sad day

      • themeatbridge
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        37 months ago

        You’re joking, but they did change the design of the Lack tables about a decade ago to make more of the legs hollow. They were popular as diy home server racks, but the hollow legs make it more difficult to mount more than one or two units of space.

    • Scrubbles
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      77 months ago

      This program was to encourage you to be loyal by offering you discounts. Now that you’re loyal, fuck you.

    • @[email protected]
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      47 months ago

      I think this is just normal inflation, since it’s cost. I guess you could also argue it’s skimpflation.

      • @reddig33
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        197 months ago

        Well, getting rid of your return customer incentive program isn’t going to help growth.

    • @iforgotmyinstance
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      167 months ago

      Board and ceo says they need even higher margins, the billions in profit simply aren’t enough!

    • @[email protected]
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      7 months ago

      They realised that people were still coming as often with the specific items rebate program they have everywhere else and figured they should stop leaving money on the table in the USA.

      That’s my guess.

    • Annoyed_🦀 🏅
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      47 months ago

      They say cost is going down, in my local ikea website we didn’t have the royalty program like OP posted, but they did have price cut and all, not sure how long this will last.

  • @[email protected]
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    717 months ago

    Per Wikipedia:

    shrinkflation, also known as the grocery shrink ray, deflation, or package downsizing, is the process of items shrinking in size or quantity, or even sometimes reformulating or reducing quality, while their prices remain the same or increase.

    I can’t see how furniture could ever qualify as shrinkflation, unless we’re counting something like the use of crappier materials.

    • @Anonymousllama
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      257 months ago

      Your membership to the service is now worse off comparatively, so the benefits you receive have shrunk. Shrinkflation feels pretty apt here

      • @[email protected]
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        7 months ago

        That’s you paying more for the same thing: inflation. Shrinkflation would mean getting less for the same or more money.

      • themeatbridge
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        47 months ago

        OK, but the membership is free. So you’re paying with the value of your email and personal information.

    • @Frozengyro
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      57 months ago

      Yea, if I’m understanding correctly, they are removing an employee benefit. Which is shitty, but the discount was pretty shit in the first place.

      • @[email protected]
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        307 months ago

        It’s not an employee benefit. It’s a membership thing that customers can sign up for. It was literally the only perk of it.

        • @SpaceMan9000
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          57 months ago

          And other deals + free coffee during business days.

          Return window was also bigger if you were a family member. At least where I live.

  • @[email protected]
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    7 months ago

    Hey, that’s unfair. Here in Germany we don’t get 5% discount with IKEA family. Just discount on a few select (changing) products and free coffee.

    • @Nouveau_Burnswick
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      217 months ago

      I am capable of drinking enough free coffee to equate a 5% discount.

        • @Nouveau_Burnswick
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          67 months ago

          There is no free Ikea coffee in Québec or Ontario.

          The member card here gives access to some discounts (not a flat discount, but discounts on whatever thing they decided to put on sale) and an extended return window.

    • drphungky
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      47 months ago

      That’s how it originally was in the US. I had it for years and it was absolutely useless, I used to complain about what’s the point of even having it if the only benefit was ONE return without a receipt per calendar year. You’re telling me you want to track all my purchases, but you can’t actually track all my purchases? Give me a break.

      Then a few years ago they added free coffee, so it became worth it again. The 5% off thing is new enough I remember being surprised when I learned it.

  • @surewhynotlem
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    467 months ago

    I’ll argue that it’s not shrinkflation if the thing is free. It’s just them not giving you free stuff anymore.

    • @[email protected]
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      217 months ago

      Shrinkflation also has an element of being sneaky with it. Making the product cheaper or smaller without changing the price or packaging so that they can sneak the relative price increase past the customer.

      This is them plainly telling the consumer that shit will be 5% more expensive now. That’s just regular old inflation.

      • Annoyed_🦀 🏅
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        57 months ago

        Shrinkflation tend to be shrinking in quantity, but yes whilr ikea can’t shrink their furniture, they can shrink their quality. Whether they indeed shrink the quality it’s up to debate tho.

        • @Selmafudd
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          17 months ago

          They did shrink their Expedit into the Kallax

      • @surewhynotlem
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        17 months ago

        If you sign up for the free family program… Yes?

  • @Barney
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    277 months ago

    I bought a chair with a 10 year warranty just before covid. A part fell off. They refused to repair/replace, only refund. Went to repurchase the chair, was $50 more. No wonder they wouldn’t repair/replace. Ugh.

    • YⓄ乙
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      87 months ago

      I used to work with this guy who moved from India. One day we were hanging out together after work and he told me that he’s importing some furniture from India. I asked about the cost shipping etc and he offered me if I want to buy any furniture from India and he’ll get everything in on shipping container and get it moved to Sydney. I bought 2 bed, 1 dining table, and few other stuff, I remember I paid around $1500 and those were the best purchases I ever made. Its now been more than 7 years and still running strong.

  • @[email protected]
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    197 months ago

    But you still get discounts on BLÅHAJs, the most relevant item the store sells anyways.

    At least where I shop.

    Blåhaj 🥰✨

  • Lockely
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    117 months ago

    Consider they’re a 30+ mile, hour+ drive away, this is giving me even less of a reason to go, and I happen to like Ikea. But free coffee isn’t going to remotely make up for my gas mileage, so I guess I’ll continue to shift my furniture needs elsewhere. =/