The weirdest thing I noticed at the IKEA cafeteria last Sunday

So I went to IKEA last Sunday around noon to grab some meatballs, and I swear every single person in line was holding a shopping bag full of candles. Not furniture, not shelves, just like 15 candles each. I counted 8 people doing this before I even got my tray. Does anyone else notice random crowd behavior like that or was this just a weird day at my local store?

2 comments

2 Comments

schmidt.grace4d agoMost Upvoted

Maybe they were all grabbing candles for some kind of group project or party that happened to be that day. Like a giant candle-themed event or a charity thing where everyone brings one. I've seen people do stuff like that for community potlucks or church sales but with food instead of candles. Could be someone posted in a local Facebook group that day and everyone just showed up at once without telling the store. Would explain why it was so specific and not just random impulse buys.

anthony_jenkins615d ago

Oh man, that is wild. I actually read somewhere that IKEA started this whole candle thing as a quiet experiment a few years back, like they put them near the entrance on purpose to see if people would just grab them without thinking. Something about "retail psychology" or whatever. So maybe your store had a big display that day and everyone just followed the crowd without realizing. Could be a coincidence too, but I've noticed folks do this weird herding thing at IKEA all the time, like once one person grabs something it spreads.