The research, conducted over two weeks, anonymously matched Facebook usage and data from the mobile network EE to measure the uplift in store customer traffic from those who had seen targeted IKEA adverts on Facebook.

Explaining the process, Phillip Dyte, paid social media manager for iProspect, said: “We worked closely to serve News Feed ads to IKEA’s Cardiff audience, ensuring we reached a statistically robust number of unique local impressions. EE then analysed device activity within a geofenced area around the IKEA store – removing staff, people who lived in the area, and passers-by.”

The results showed an 11% increase in store visits among the more than 172,000 people that were served adverts, compared to an otherwise identical and equally-sized group that had not seen the adverts.

IKEA saw the strongest growth in visitors in the 22 to 25-year-old and 26 to 35-year-old age groups with uplifts of 31% and 11%, respectively.