You don't need to "walk the IKEA maze" if you know your local store. I used to live near the one in south London, and knew all the shortcuts - the first was to walk through a passage by the cafe, then through a set of doors directly opposite, and so on. They're not forbidden to customers, just not obvious because they want you to walk the whole way around. There's definitely something that happens to most people when they walk into an IKEA, as if their conscious mind disconnects and they just blandly obey the behavioural hints in store, like arrows on the floor. It reminds me a bit of slaughterhouses, where the object is to keep the animals as calm as possible right up until the moment that they're killed.
Same here. I remember the first time finding it because I wanted to get to the food area and one other specific area and thought there has to be a better way. They're not hard to spot if you look for them, doorways (with or without doors) in the walls separating areas.
Now I'll either 'go on the tour' or get the item and out, usually a mix touring a couple areas. The food is also a really good deal and somewhat different from the usual fare. I remember getting a bocconcini and tomato salad for a few dollars. The food is designed to keep you shopping, but you can take advantage of it separately.
No, there are plenty of hidden in plain sight shortcuts that aren’t marked on the maze board hanging from the ceiling.
Just look at the employees move about, they use double doors to move between sections much more efficiently than you do by using the dotted lines on the ceiling signs.
