Shoppers browsing IKEA may be making themselves too much at home in the store's displays and potentially influencing paying customers, Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News reported on July 28. The reporter's trip to the Swedish furniture retailer in Shanghai revealed people casually reading newspapers and chatting over coffee for an entire afternoon while seated on the store's sofas.  Some were even found sleeping in bedroom displays.

A spokesman for IKEA said they have no plans to restrict customers from using the displays, but hopes that all customers shop responsibly and do not influence others.

@张华1226: I don't think it's a bad thing. For experiential retail, customer satisfaction is No.1. If IKEA stops customers from freely trying out furniture, sales will fall.

@上海滩王爷: IKEA should change its business model in China. Trying out merchandise like this is not suitable here. If they want to do it, there should be time limits.  

@京城媚舞萌猫: I live near the IKEA in Beijing, and I always see this kind of shameless shoppers. I don't know whether IKEA stores in others countries have similar problems.

@pentair_jasonXu: IKEA is not a charity organization. But if they're not stopping people from trying out the furniture, that means they're earning money. If anybody is suffering through all this, it's the IKEA employees who have to serve these customers.

@童童tweety: If IKEA doesn't interfere, people will run riot over the place. If they put forward strict guidelines, they may lose customers. It is hard for IKEA to have the best of both worlds, isn't it?