How to Shop at IKEA: Understanding Labeling 
Shopping at IKEA can be a dizzying experience – nearly 10,000 products are stocked in a typical IKEA store, and customers are expected to get inspired, find the products and in some cases, check out on their own! Learn How to Shop at IKEA all week long here at IKEAFANS!
Today we’re going to take a look at IKEA’s seemingly straightforward labeling system – it’s not as clearcut as it may seem. Believe it or not, there’s lots of helpful information contained on those hang tags and price tags, not to mention the package labels! Labels, tags, product stickers, article numbers, draft orders and price tags – they all have their own special codes, and we’re going to dissect them all and give you the goods.
Understanding IKEA’s Product Labeling System
It’s been rumored that IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad began naming IKEA products because he is dyslexic and names were easier than numbers for him to remember. They certainly are quirky and lend some of the fun to IKEA’s brand that we all enjoy. But with nearly 10K products to keep track of and new products entering and leaving the range all the time, IKEA has to have a solid system for keeping track of inventory, informing their co-workers and providing information to the end consumer – you.
First, some terminology that will help in understanding IKEA’s labels and tags.
Product- A complete IKEA product as seen in the catalog, or in the store showroom, warehouse or marketplace. Products may contain several ‘articles,’ each with their own numbers.
Article – A ‘part,’ if you will, that may be one of several that make up a complete product.
Article Number – A unique 8 digit number that identifies the article. In this format: 123.456.78
Supplier- An IKEA sub-contractor, who manufactures IKEA products to IKEA specifications. Supplier codes are 5 digit numbers.
Date- The date of manufacture of a product. Date codes sets of two 2-digit numbers that refer to the year and week of production. Sometimes a 5th digit refers to the day of the week.
Product label – Either printed directly on the packaging or on a sticker adhered to the packaging or product itself, the product label contains a wealth of information.
Draft Order – Draft orders are orders input by a co-worker in the store and are used to confirm the accuracy of the order prior to placing a complete order. Common in kitchens and offices. Draft orders have a language all their own.
Hang tag – These literally ‘hang’ on or near an item in the showroom or marketplace and contain a lot of product information, including the location in the warehouse if a self-serve item.
Shelf tag- This is the tag that contains the product information on the shelf in the warehouse.
Product Label
The IKEA product label is found on the plain brown cardboard box or clear plastic wrap found on most of IKEA’s products. These labels contain more information than you might imagine, including the article number, dimensions and weight, the supplier code (helpful sometimes when there’s been a change in the production run of an item), the country of manufacture, and date and time stamps and codes. Plus this is where you’ll find the bar code to scan when you’re doing self-checkout.
Here’s the label for a 76cm x 61cm (30″x24″) AKURUM Kitchen Cabinet made in Serbia during the 48th week of 2006 (on the 29th of November at 18:40 to be precise). It weighs 14kg (31 pounds).
Here’s the label for the LOVE lamp. It includes additional information specific to this product, such as the type of bulb required by the lamp. Heads up – some IKEA lamps require bulbs that are not readily available at the local hardware store!
Next up, we’ll examine hang tags and draft orders and see what secrets they hold!
Tags: article numbers, hang tags, How to Shop at IKEA, IKEA hang tags, IKEA labeling, IKEA labels, IKEA product information, pricetags, product numbers
