An IKEA store with a new format that will allow customers to receive design advice, order furnishings and then pick them up is scheduled to open Wednesday in the Rio Lakefront shopping and entertainment center in Gaithersburg.
Take a peek at the inside of the store below:
The store at 101 Boardwalk Place features IKEA’s alternative shopping concept known as the “Plan & order point with Pick-up” which aims for customer convenience and accessibility, according to a press release. Customers won’t be able to take products home directly from the store but can work with an IKEA employee to plan and order home furnishings. The store also will serve as a centralized location for online order pickups.
On Wednesday, the store will host a housewarming event with giveaways, free food, drinks and a prize wheel from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Gaithersburg store will be the fifth IKEA store in the region, joining IKEA’s large-format stores in College Park and Woodbridge, Virginia and a Plan & order point in Arlington, Virginia. It was initially expected to open in fall 2023 alongside another of the same concept in Fairfax. That store opened in January, according to a press release.
“We are thrilled to bring the best of IKEA to our DMV neighbors,” Javier Quiñones, CEO and chief sustainability officer of IKEA U.S., said in the release. “We’ve seen that customers are still eager for in-person experiences, and we hope that this new Plan and order point with Pick-up provides a new and convenient way to shop.”