Ikea announces worldwide availability of product name pronunciations in retailer’s mobile app
A new feature in the Ikea app lets customers hear how product names are pronounced. This is available across all markets and languages (except Swedish, for obvious reasons).
In the retailer’s early days, founder Ingvar Kamprad, who had dyslexia, introduced product names as a more memorable and practical alternative to numerical product codes often associated with products, as he struggled to remember them. Over time, this evolved into an Ikea unique naming system, where different product categories followed specific names, and eventually, themes.
The idea began at an app hackathon, where co-workers were looking for simple ways to solve real customer challenges. Customers and co-workers around the world were, it was noted, struggling with Swedish product names.
“This started when we were working on the collection NYTILLVERKAD, and several people on our team had a really hard time pronouncing it,” says Filip Larsson, Software Engineer.
That moment sparked the winning hackathon idea: adding a pronunciation button to product pages in the Ikea app. Today, millions of customers and co-workers see Ikea product names every day, navigating unfamiliar letters, sounds, and accents. By bringing pronunciation directly into the app experience, the aim is to make that interaction a little easier, while staying true to a tradition that has been part of the company’s identity for decades.
The feature is currently being used by 8,000 people globally, every day.
2026 RTIH Innovation Awards
Mobile retail 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.
