London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Ikea shoppers queue for four hours to buy flatpack furniture as 19 stores are reopened

Thousands of people queued in the heat for hours today after 19 Ikea stores reopened across England and Northern Ireland.
Only 10 customers were allowed in at a time, and only one adult and one child from each household was permitted to enter. In some areas, car parks were forced to close to help ease the pressure on staff and they turned into massive queuing areas.

In Tottenham, North London, shoppers began arriving hours before the 10am opening time, with some waiting for nearly four hours before they were finally allowed inside the store. Social distancing ‘wardens’ wearing masks patrolled the area, to make sure people were following the one-way system and keeping two metres apart.

Customer Jack Parkes, 33, from Edmonton, said he queued for two hours before buying a dressing table and some mirrors for his daughter’s room. He continued: ‘People will probably think I’m mad for bothering, but to be honest it’s another reason to leave the house after being told to stay inside for so long.’

He added that the store had been a ‘clean and safe environment for people to shop in’.

In Belfast, shoppers Samantha Fisher and her daughter Atlanta, from Groomsport, near Bangor, queued from 8am in order to furnish a bedroom which had lain empty for weeks during the coronavirus lockdown. In Warrington, customers began arriving at 5.40am before the store opened at 9am.

Prior to reopening, Ikea bosses warned that current social distancing measures must be obeyed inside their stores and asked that shoppers ‘come prepared with ready-made lists and own bags’.

Those ‘purely wishing to browse’ were also advised to visit the stores in the ‘coming weeks’ in bid to shorten lengthy waiting times.

Play areas and restaurants are not yet open again to the public, but the company’s infamous meatballs can be bought to cook at home.

Click and collect facilities are also opening in a phased approach in line with government guidelines, with Ikea saying this will depend on which UK region stores are in.

Extra hand sanitiser and more deep cleans of bags, trolleys, bathrooms, equipment and touchscreens will take place, while cash will not be accepted at any tills.

Customers should also avoid travelling to stores just to process refunds, as the company has a 365-day returns policy.

An Ikea spokesperson said: ‘The health and safety of our customers and co-workers remains our top priority, which is why we put extensive and enhanced measures in place to create a safe and comfortable experience.’
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×