Swedish furniture retailer IKEA opened its first store in Macau on Thursday, attracting locals who on turning up at the shop were disappointed to find out that shoppers were only allowed in through an online registration that only provided bookings until May 6, and all places are fully booked.

The company said in a recent post on its Facebook page that in order to ensure that customers can enjoy a safe and comfortable shopping experience, it is limiting the number of shoppers in the store, and customers can register for a specific shopping timeslot.

A woman went to the store on Thursday hoping to get some of the brand’s popular meatballs but was told she needed to register online first. The staff there provided her with a QR code where she could register, only to find that all timeslots up to May 6 have been booked.

The IKEA shop is in Nova Mall in Taipa.

A staff member there told the Macau Post Daily that a total of four shopping sessions have been set aside, and each session lasts 2 1/2 hours, and the maximum number of people in the store at any time is 100.

According to the staff, the arrangements are part of the company’s measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Asked when more dates would be made available for online registration, the staff said that the company would announce the schedule on its Facebook page.

A woman commented on the brand’s Facebook page that it was “ridiculous” that people couldn’t just walk in, and would probably still go to the stores in Hong Kong once the borders reopen “because the Macau one is restricted to who knows who and who can understand Chinese to go online and register”.

Some online users asked if the company could set aside some of the quota for walk-in customers each day.

Last night, some users pointed out that they needed a password to a survey when they clicked into the link for the online registration.

(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)

PHOTO © The Macau Post Daily/Monica Leong