8 Things To Expect At Ikea’s New Jem Outlet, Including Exclusive Dark Choc Soft Serve

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is opening its first mall outlet in Singapore at Jem tomorrow (Apr 29). The Jurong store comes 15 years after Ikea opened its second outlet at Tampines in 2006.

Compared to its other behemoth branches, Ikea’s Jem outlet is much smaller at 6,500 sqm. The store, which takes over the defunct retailer Robinsons, is split into three floors, and can accommodate 1,500 shoppers.

When the store reaches maximum capacity in accordance with Covid-19 regulations, you can get a queue number and a SMS sent to your phone to return when the store is less crowded.

The merchandise displays are a little more condensed, but you can still find all of Ikea's product departments here.

While Ikea’s various home furnishing departments (like bedding, dining ware and tables/chairs) are fully represented here, the display has been scaled down to cater to the limited floor space. “We only have customer-facing areas, with denser spaces for merchandising,” says Jaap Doornbos, Ikea Southeast Asia’s retail director.

8days.sg had a sneak peek of the store ahead of its opening, and below are 8 things to expect.

If you don’t fancy making small talk with the cashier, payment at Ikea Jurong is fully automated and cashless via its self-checkout counters. It’s also the first Ikea store in Southeast Asia to go completely cashless.

A screen displays the queue situation at the checkout counters, and you can head to a less crowded floor to make your payment.

Despite the limited space, Ikea has managed to cram in its popular Swedish restaurant, bistro and a food market selling tidbits and frozen foodstuff. The restaurant’s seating capacity is not as huge as Ikea’s Tampines and Alexandra outlets, but you can still expect the same menu like Meatballs, Chicken Wings and Salmon Fillet, plus seasonal dishes like Nasi Kerabu and Ondeh Cake.

The ordering process is also the same; queue up at the cafeteria-style counter, get your food and pay for it at the cashier in one seamless line.

While there are self-serve drinks dispensers and a cutlery station installed at the restaurant, Ikea staff will help you fill up your cups and take the cutlery due to Covid-19.

If you can’t find a seat at the restaurant, consider going to the takeaway bistro, which sells snacks like hotdog buns and soft serve ice cream. You can order and pay in advance for your food on Ikea’s app, after which a SMS notification will be sent to your phone to pick up your order within 15 minutes. “It’s an accurate window so you don’t have to wait. If this works out, we will roll it out to all the stores,” says Ikea Southeast Asia’s retail director Jaap Doornbos.

You can also get Ikea’s popular soft serve in a new exclusive flavour: Dark Chocolate. The soy-based ice cream is also sold via unmanned Paywave dispensers. Just tap your credit or debit card on the machine’s reader, and a cone will be dispensed for you. To mitigate the crowds, the machines will only operate on weekdays.

There is a small food market where you can stock up on frozen salmon fillets, hotdogs, Daim sweets, cookies and condiments like ketchup, mustard and lingonberry jam. Jaap also tells 8days.sg that the company is planning to partner Foodpanda to do islandwide delivery “within six months” for its packaged snacks and frozen food, which means you don’t have to jostle with the crowds to stock up on your Ikea nosh.

But don’t expect a delivery service for its cooked food. Jaap explains, “When you get food delivered to your home, the quality varies. We don’t want to risk customers getting their food in a less-than-perfect condition.”

If you need inspiration for your home furnishing, there are still 12 room settings featuring aspirational “home living situations”, plus two fully-furnished homes like a 25m² mock-up apartment.

The floors are serviced by escalators and lifts.

As the store cannot display that many bulky display items like beds, you can buy stuff off a digital catalogue and have it delivered to your home.

Roving Ikea staff will be equipped with mobile tablets to help you with your purchases on the spot. But if you need more help, like making payment in cash, you can head to the comfy customer service counter on the third floor.

Ikea Jurong opens on Apr 29, 10am, at #02-12/12/15, #03-15/16/17 & #04-20/21/21 Jem. Open daily 10am-10pm. www.ikea.sg/jurong.

Photos: Yip Jieying