Swedish flat-pack giant Ikea has collaborated with Apple to unveil a new app which uses augmented reality (AR) technology that allows customers to visualise what IKEA products will look like in their own homes, before buying the products.

Once Apple’s iOS 11 operating system becomes available later this year, IKEA customers will be able to download the app via an iPhone or iPad, allowing them to try before they buy.

Michael Valdsgaard, leader of digital transformation at Inter IKEA Systems, said: “This technology makes it easier to make buying decisions in your own home, get inspired and try many different products, styles and colours in real-life settings with the swipe of your finger.

“I think that augmented reality and virtual reality will be a total game-changer for retail in the same way as the internet. Only this time it will be much faster, and accessible to billions of customers using iPhone and iPad.”

By getting access to Apple’s technology and ‘specialist knowledge’ in the area of augmented reality, Ikea hopes to improve the speed of development of new innovative tools for its customers.

It has been a good past 12 months for Ikea, with the UK arm of the business increasing sales and market share. The retailer saw annual sales rise by 8.9 per cent to £1.72 billion in its last financial year (ending 31 August 2016) – marking a fifth consecutive year in sales growth.

The firm’s market share increased during this period from 0.5 per cent to 8.2 per cent, and online sales increased 31 per cent.

In an interview with Reuters earlier this month, Ikea also revealed plans to start selling its products through third party websites, in a move designed to reach more online customers.

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