IKEA is launching a virtual reality (VR) feature that will enable customers to visualise how products would look in their own homes before purchasing them in-app.

The Swedish furniture and home furnishings giant’s chief digital officer Barbara Martin Coppola told Reuters that the app’s VR experience would be part of moves to combine in-store and online shopping experiences.

The in-app shopping feature marks an upgrade on the existing IKEA app, launched in 2017, which allowed for visualisation of the IKEA range, but was not linked to a shopping function.

It will be launched across IKEA’s top eight markets by the end of the year, starting with France and the Netherlands, followed by Germany, the US and China.

The app aims to provide an accurate simulation of how a product would fit in a customer’s home by making using of room dimensions and offering options for style preferences.

The move comes after rival home furnishing retailer Made.com launched an innovation lab last month, aimed at trialling new retail technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and 3D technology to help customers visualise items in their own home.

A spokesman for IKEA said the new app “includes a fresh design, inspirational content, improved user experience, an in-store mode and shopping capabilities all at the click of a button”, adding that additional features include product recommendations, ratings and reviews.

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