When it comes to stylish but budget-friendly furniture, no other name has greater recall than IKEA. This Sweden-rooted multinational juggernaut has more than 450 stores in 60 countries. Many of my friends don’t pass up an opportunity to shop if there is an IKEA store in the city they’re visiting. I also know a couple of interior-stylist-friends who travel abroad for the sole purpose of shopping here. But now, they may no longer need to because IKEA has finally arrived in the Philippines.

And they didn’t come here to play. Covering 65,000 square meters, what IKEA built in Pasay City’s Mall of Asia Complex is their largest store in the world. It opened its doors to the public last November 25.

But because we are still dealing with the pandemic, IKEA implements health and safety protocols. In this article, we’ll share with you what you need to do, how to reserve a slot, and how to shop at IKEA Philippines – Pasay.

How to Schedule a Visit

Good news! NO BOOKING NEEDED to visit IKEA anymore.

But only fully vaccinated guests are allowed. Bring your vaccination card.

Prior to 2022, when the store just opened, they implemented a NO BOOKING, NO SHOPPING policy. But that has been suspended.

How to Get to IKEA

IKEA Pasay City is located within the Mall of Asia Complex, just beside the SM Mall of Asia Department Store and in between the MOA Arena and SMX Convention Center. All these buildings are interconnected through bridge ways. The Mall of Asia Complex is located on the southern end of EDSA.

If you’re taking public transportation, here’s how to get to IKEA.

1. Make your way to any MRT Station.
2. Take the MRT to Taft Station. Alight there.
3. Board a jeepney or bus bound for MOA.
4. Get off at the unloading spot, just in front of the mall, near the MOA Globe.
5. Enter the mall, take the escalator up to the second floor. Head left and walk all the way through the outdoor area to the entrance to the MOA Square.
6. You’ll find entrance to IKEA inside the MOA Square. You can’t miss it because of its large blue and yellow theme.

If you drive a car, you may find parking spots at the IKEA building itself or at nearby buildings, which are all interconnected. This area is used to holding concerts and big events so parking shouldn’t be an issue.

How to Shop

For a visual guide, we have a video version of this article here:

We took two sets of escalators all the way to the fourth floor, where we were greeted by staff handing yellow frakta bags, where you place the items you wish to purchase. “Frakta” means “to carry” in Swedish.

It’s best to be familiar with the basic arrangement of the sections. IKEA has three main areas: the Showroom (4th floor), the Market Hall (3rd floor), and the Self-Serve Furniture Area (also on the 3rd floor).

SHOWROOM, 4th Floor

This is a good place to start your shopping, especially if you’re also looking for inspiration. Here you’ll find dozens of well-styled rooms — bedrooms, kitchens, bathrooms, living rooms — all featuring IKEA products. If you like an item, check out the tag.

• Products with YELLOW TAGS are usually bulky items. If you wish to buy a yellow-tagged item, approach a staff member to assist you with your purchase.
• Products with RED TAGS are items that you should pick up at the Market Hall or the Self-Serve Furniture Area on the third floor. For these, take a photo of the tag to use it as reference later on when it’s time to collect the item.

MARKET HALL, 3rd Floor

This is the area immediately down the stairs from the Showroom. The first thing to greet you is the corner where all the trolley carts are parked and a wall featuring products that cost less than P100 apiece. But this is just a quick taste of what’s in store for you inside.

Think of it as a giant department store bursting with smaller items like kitchenware, glassware, utensils, bathroom products, bed sheets, pillows, toys, lights — name it!

SELF-SERVE FURNITURE AREA, 3rd Floor

Adjacent the Market Hall. This is where you’ll pick up bigger items like drawers, cabinets, couches, and bed frames. Just check the tags and get the item from the shelf.

Self-service! But if you need help, there are staff members roaming around.

CHECKOUT COUNTERS, 3rd Floor

After the Self-Serve Area are the CHECK-OUT COUNTERS. If I’m not mistaken, there are around 30 counters straddling the entire room. During my visit, the queue was so long but mostly because most tend to flock towards the closest counters.

NOTE: If you’re purchasing 10 items or fewer, you may queue towards the yellow-marked Express Counters, positioned at the far end of the room. Most shoppers fail to notice this because they’re too far away and giant columns block the view. But there are 10 Express Counters in that corner.

REMINDER: While inside the store, make sure to:

1. Wear your face mask at all times.
2. Observe proper physical distancing.
3. Sanitize your hands using alcohol or alcohol-based sanitizer.

Where to Eat at IKEA

IKEA has its own food establishments within the building. The most prominent are the Swedish Restaurant and Swedish Cafe.

There’s also a bar immediately after the checkout counters. It sells some items like chicken wings, hotdog, empanada and ice cream.

If you plan on dining at the restaurant, bring your vaccination card! Only fully vaccinated adults (18 years old and above) are allowed to dine the restaurant. Unvaccinated minors are allowed only if they’re accompanied by fully-vaccinated adults.

Unfortunately, all that walking around left us famished. Without any more energy to queue up, we decided to skip eating here and just dine elsewhere at SM Mall of Asia. We’ll just return to IKEA another day to try the resto and cafe. We’ll update this post after.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the operating hours of IKEA Philippines?

IKEA STORE: Daily, 10:00 am – 7:00 pm.

Swedish Restaurant: 9:30 am – 6:00 pm
Bistro Level 2: 9:30 am – 6:30pm

How long can I stay inside IKEA Philippines?

No time limit.

You may spend as much time as you want, even up to closing time.

Are walk-ins allowed?

YES. Starting 10 January 2022, no booking needed.

Fully vaccinated walk-ins are allowed. Bring your vaccination card.

Is there a way to track how much I spend so I won’t go over the budget?

The prices are clearly and visibly indicated on the tags, so you should be able to have an idea how much your running total could be.

But if you want to be sure, use LISTA app. It was actually an app designed for stores but this proves to be extra useful for shoppers as well. We have been working with them so we get to explore the app thoroughly, and we ended up falling in love with it. We use it primarily to track our expenses when we’re traveling, but it can definitely be used when shopping too.

All you need to do is enter how much budget you have and as you snatch items off the shelf and add to to your frakta bag, input the price on the app and it will tell you how much you have left. Don’t worry, you don’t need an internet connection to make it work: You can use it offline!

Another key feature is the SAVINGS CHALLENGE! Using the LISTA app, you can set a target amount and the frequency you’re comfortable with so you know when you’re financially ready for an IKEA haul!

Excited na for IKEA shopping attack? I-LISTA mo na!

✅ DOWNLOAD LISTA HERE!

How long is the waiting time?

UPDATE (January 2022): Queues are much shorter now and there are fewer people.

The account below was our experience when we visited in December 2021.

Based on our experience, we spent 30 minutes falling in line to enter the store. But it actually took us 10-15 minutes to get from the start of the line to the entrance area. The rest of the time was spent just waiting for our scheduled entry time. The queue moved pretty quickly and it was pretty organized.

Note that we visited on OPENING DAY (Thursday), so the queues are naturally long. This may change in the coming days / weeks.

Are children allowed at IKEA Philippines?

YES, according to their official website. We also saw numerous shoppers with kids.

When did IKEA Philippines open?

IKEA’s first store in the Philippines opened to the public on 25 November 2021.

Its launch has been anticipated since its construction was first announced. Initially, it was scheduled to be completed in 2020, but there had been delays due to the pandemic.

IKEA’s online store was first to be launched in early November 2021, but the opening of the physical store finally happened on November 25th.

Last updated: 23 March 2022
Additional words by Mariah Cruz

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