South Bay residents tired of trekking to the Mission Valley megastore are getting some relief next week. IKEA is set to open a new South Bay Plan & Order pick-up point at the Southland Plaza shopping center next Wednesday, giving shoppers a closer option to plan big projects and grab their orders. The compact space is designed as a planning studio for design appointments and scheduled pick-up or delivery rather than a full walk-in showroom, and the first day will feature a 10:30 AM grand-opening celebration with tours, giveaways and food samples.
Where the South Bay location will be
According to IKEA, the 2,450-square-foot Plan & Order point will be at 585 Saturn Blvd., Suite A, in the Southland Plaza Shopping Center. "I'm beyond excited to welcome customers to our new Plan and order point in South Bay this Spring," Market Manager Laura Mellor said in the release. The compact location is meant to give customers a place to map out larger projects, like kitchens and bedrooms, with IKEA specialists, then schedule pickup or delivery once everything is designed.
How the pick-up point works
As reported by Patch, the South Bay studio will officially kick things off at 10:30 AM next Wednesday with tours, giveaways and food. The site operates as a planning studio where customers can sit down with IKEA specialists to design kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms and place orders. Shoppers will not be able to walk out with merchandise the same day, but they can schedule delivery or pickup for qualifying orders at the on-site pickup point. Online shoppers will also be able to select IKEA South Bay as their preferred pick-up location at checkout.
Why this matters for South Bay shoppers
The new pick-up point joins IKEA's longtime Mission Valley store and is part of the company's broader shift into smaller formats, according to IKEA. The move is intended to bring IKEA's design services closer to residents of Imperial Beach, Otay Mesa, Chula Vista and the rest of southern San Diego County. For shoppers who previously made the trip to Mission Valley, the Southland Plaza site should cut down on travel time while preserving access to IKEA's planning tools and delivery network.
