IKEA TV Will Allow You To Buy Things Via Remote Control

Earlier this year, IKEA announced some details about its upcoming Uppleva TV, but now it’s being reported that the TV, which also includes a cabinet thingy on which to place it, will feature technology that allows people to make purchases straight through their remote control.

According to GigaOm, the Uppleva will use a system called Connept. So when someone watching a show on their IKEA TV sees a certain red icon pop up on the screen, they can press a button on their remote, enter login information, and make the purchase.

GigaOm couldn’t get anyone from any of the involved companies to comment on exactly how this system will be implemented in the Uppleva, so it’s not known if this will be used simply to sell more IKEA products or if the Connept system is merely a built-in e-commerce app on the TV that can be used by any advertiser.

We don’t know about Europe, where the Uppleva will soon be making its debut, but here in the U.S. advertisers have not had much success with so-called interactive ads that require people to use a smartphone app or scan a QR code.

One of the knocks against these sorts of spots has been that by the time the person gets out their phone and fires up the app, the ad is long gone. Perhaps having the tech built directly into the remote will lead to more conversions for advertisers — or maybe just more peeved TV viewers sick of being told to press a button for more info.

Ikea TV will let you buy stuff with its remote control [Gigaom.com]

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