IKEA’s Auckland store opening drew hundreds of early-morning shoppers and quickly filled its car parks by Thursday afternoon, prompting NZTA to warn that overflow areas could spill traffic back toward the motorway.
Despite predictions of severe congestion and crowds of up to 20,000 a day, traffic was initially far lighter than forecast with free-flowing roads.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon hailed the opening as a “win for competition and consumers”.
NZTA and Auckland Transport warned that heavy congestion is likely in the coming days—especially on Saturdays and peak weekday hours—with delays of up to 40 minutes expected around Mt Wellington.
Went to the first New Zealand IKEA opening in Auckland today. Not much happens in NZ so it was a big deal with big crowds. Pretty average inside with, you guessed it, furniture on display. Huge though – took an hours walk end to end. pic.twitter.com/LNwhnuGaVb
— Dee Flea (@FleaDee) December 4, 2025
Came to the grand opening of the first ever IKEA store in New Zealand! A lot of people showed up but it was pretty damn exciting, a lot of media too and definitely the most amount of people I’ve seen since I came back from Japan 😂 pic.twitter.com/K7MBnYWXk4
— Huzz 🎹✨ @ Flashpoint S ✈️🇯🇵12/11 (@HuzzuDesu) December 3, 2025
