The last printed IKEA catalogue
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Published annually since 1951, it was one of the most widely circulated works of our time, with 211 million copies worldwide. This means that the IKEA catalogue had a higher circulation than the Bible.
The 2021 edition is the last printed IKEA catalogue. Customer behaviour and media consumption have changed. In the meantime, Ikea has become more digital and has found new ways to reach people, the group says.
The Otto catalogue had already been discontinued in 2018, as 97 per cent of its sales came from online orders. Nevertheless, catalogues are not dead, because about 50 per cent of catalogue browseers look at the website afterwards and then order there. In this respect, the print product catalogue first provided the inspiration to order online afterwards.
Moreover, it was a mirror of our time: because from the portrayal of people, hobbies and lifestyles in the IKEA catalogue, later generations will one day be able to draw valuable conclusions about the dreams and social developments of our time.
