Ikea is replacing one of its full-sized superstores in the Chicago suburb of Bolingbrook, IL, with a small-format location in nearby Naperville.
The 310,000-square-foot Bolingbrook Ikea location will remain open until late next year, and the Naperville store, situated eight miles away, will open in late 2027, according to Ikea
The small-format Naperville store, consistent with the size of other smaller Ikea locations in the U.S., reflects how Ikea’s customers are increasingly living, working and shopping, the company maintained. It will provide customers with a streamlined shopping experience, including the retailer’s Swedish food market and deli.
The small-format store in Naperville is near growing population centers and a popular shopping district, and its operation will ensure existing Bolingbrook customers can access in-store shopping more easily, Ikea reported. Naperville is within a 30-minute drive of the company’s full-sized store in Schaumburg, Ikea added.
In an August corporate update, Ikea said new store formats, enhanced digital service, and a modernized fulfillment network, planned as part of a $2.2 billion investment, will make Ikea stores in the U.S. more affordable, accessible, and sustainable. Ikea launched the investment initiative in 2023, which has led to the development of new store formats, digital experiences, and fulfillment capabilities to bring the company closer to consumers and inspire them to redesign their domestic spaces, the retailer added.
The resulting new retail formats include the small-format stores, which can be as little as 10% the square footage of Ikea’s full-size superstores, which range widely in dimensions but generally measure more than 300,000 square feet in the U.S. Ikea locates the small-format stores in high-traffic shopping centers and cities, it pointed out, to combine planning services with an efficient shopping experience and a curated product range.
Ikea has also been debuting plan-and-order points with pick-up, a store concept that supports consumer projects such as kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom overhauls while also offering a convenient place to collect online orders. In a partnership arrangement, Ikea has launched branded shop-with-shops in Best Buy locations. The pilot program, running in Florida and Texas Best Buy locations, is designed to make it easier to integrate appliances with Ikea kitchens and laundry offerings.
Ikea pointed out in August that it is “thoughtfully” evolving the company store network to meet changing customer needs by balancing growth in emerging communities with updates to, and in some cases closures of, locations that no longer align with shopping behaviors. Ikea reported that the approach lets it focus investments where they can have the greatest impact while continuing to improve accessibility and convenience for customers across the U.S.
As part of the overall initiative, Ikea has upgraded its website, app and in-store navigation tools while extending self-service returns across both parcel and large-item products to provide an easier post-purchase experience. The company is also investing in new AI and digital tools and employee upskilling, making information more accessible so staffers can spend more time focused on customers. Ikea also is modernizing its fulfillment and delivery network to speed product orders to customers at reduced cost.
