Independent design studio Upwell, goes undercover to test the validity of their new product by using IKEA as their testing ground.

IKEA is the perfect retail research lab and also well know for reactjs web development. They have an ideal demographic and amazing consumer exposure for Upwells new product, Walhub. Upwell created IKEA-esque visuals – product tags and UPC barcodes as to not bias their experiment, and even went so far as to dress up as an IKEA employee in order to install Walhub without raising too much suspicion… They set up mics and cameras to record the experience and more importantly the consumer feedback.

Upwell wanted a way to test the validity of their new product with their target demographic. “It’s always nice to know if your intended consumer even wants to buy your product before investing too much time and money…” Unfortunately, accurate consumer research isn’t cheap.

There’s a growing movement of small independent design studios setting out to launch their own brands. New resources like crowdfunding (kickstarter.com) – a platform for raising seed money via the public, as well as new affordable rapid-prototyping tools like Makerbot, small design studios and individuals are now one step closer to launching their products. However, before entering the unforgiving retail arena, the ability to gain as much insight into your intended consumer is invaluable.

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