An IKEA store just opened up near where I live. Obviously, I wanted to go. So, I turned it into a day trip for the entire family. It was probably the best shopping experience I have ever had. The way the store was laid out worked really well. Upstairs there was all the showrooms and downstairs was the self serve warehouse and the smaller items shopping section. They had informational signs that were beautiful. They provided you with rulers, pencils, and shopping lists for you to use. We even ate lunch there at the cafe/foodcourt. Oh, and of course their products are awesome as I am sure some of you know.

When I came home from the store, I went onto their website. I had been on if before but this time was different. I just had a really nice shopping experience at their store and was looking to have one on their website. However, their website was terrible compared to the store. Heres some stuff I would like to see changed.

New simple design and navigation.
An information footer like http://www.elsewares.com
Larger product images and the use of Slideshow Pro for image galleries.
Redesign the shopping cart.
Create shopping lists that you can print and bring to the store.
Email Newsletters.
Customer Reviews.
Designer Intreviews.
Blogs of course.
Gift Certificates.
Tell a friend.
Photo sharing of IKEA products in people actual homes.

I think that these things would really improve the IKEA website.