LONDON, June 13 (Reuters) - IKEA is training call centre workers to become interior design advisers as the Swedish furniture giant aims to offer more home improvement services and hand run-of-the-mill customer queries to an artificial intelligence bot called Billie.
In April, IKEA expanded its interior design services to the UK and United States, after previous launches in parts of Europe, Australia, the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere.
In the UK, customers pay 25 pounds ($31.44) for a 45-60 minute interior design advice video call and suggested product list, and can pay 125 pounds for three workspace design consultations, a floorplan and 3D visuals.
Sales by phone or video of products and services through Ingka's remote interior design channel accounted for 1.3 billion euros ($1.40 billion) of revenue in Ingka's 2022 financial year - 3.3% of the total.
These virtual services require significant investment, she said, to ensure items' colours, textures and sizes are accurately reflected and to minimise returns.
Persons:
Billie, IKEA's Billy bookcase, We're, Ulrika Biesert, Biesert, Wayfair, It's, Jocelyn Paulley, Helen Reid, Susan Fenton
Organizations:
IKEA, United Arab, Ingka Group, Reuters, Ingka, Gowling, Thomson
Locations:
Swedish, United States, Europe, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Ingka, headcount, London