Ikea Finland tests out NaviLens solution and assisted shopping service for customers with disabilities

Ikea Finland is piloting two new free accessibility solutions at its Vantaa store over the next year.

In a LinkedIn post, Catharina van den Houwe, ED&I Leader at Ikea, said: “We know that many people with disabilities face barriers when shopping, and we’re committed to making the Ikea experience more equal and accessible, acknowledging there is still much more to do.”

“Ikea Finland is piloting two new free accessibility solutions at our Vantaa store. The aim of the pilot is to make the shopping experience easier and more predictable for customers with disabilities or other functional limitations who need personal shopping assistance during their visit to the store.”

This involves:

An assisted shopping service for customers with a disability who need individual shopping support. A trained co-worker walks alongside the customer during a pre-booked 1.5-hour shopping visit and supports them with their shopping.

A NaviLens solution, where NaviLens codes have been placed in the store. The codes can be read with the free NaviLens mobile application, which provides audio descriptions of the locations of the departments and their product groups, for example. The app serves as a tool to support navigation for visually impaired customers.

Shoppers can book the assisted shopping service at Ikea Vantaa through the booking calendar on its website. They can also use the “Plan your visit” section on Ikea.fi, where they’ll find information about store accessibility and accessibility services.

2026 RTIH Innovation Awards

Inclusive technology will be a key focus area at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards.

The awards are now open for entries and celebrate global retail technology innovation in a fast moving omnichannel world.

Our winners will be revealed at the 2026 RTIH Innovation Awards Ceremony, taking place at The HAC in Central London on Wednesday, 4th November.

Check out our 2025 winners here.

Our 2025 hall of fame entrants were revealed during a sold out event which took place at The HAC on 16th October and consisted of a drinks reception, three course meal, and awards ceremony presided over by award winning comedian, actress and writer Tiff Stevenson.

In his welcome speech, Scott Thompson, Founder and Editor, RTIH, said: “This is the awards’ fifth year as a physical event. We started off with just 30 people at the South Place Hotel not far from here, then moved to London Bridge Hotel, then The Barbican, and last year RIBA’s HQ in the West End.”

“But I’m conscious of the fact that, to quote the legend that is Taylor Swift, You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby. So, this year we’ve moved to our biggest venue yet, and also pulled in our largest number of entries to date and broken attendance records.”

He added: “This year’s submissions have without doubt been our best yet. To quote one of the judges: The examples of innovative developments across both traditional and digital retail spaces were truly remarkable.”

Congratulations to our winners, and a big thank you to our sponsors, judging panel, the legend that is Tiff Stevenson, and all those who attended our 2025 gathering.