"IKEA is likely maximising potential from the Australian market which has flattened considerably in the past few years," Wilkinson said. "By comparison New Zealand has stayed fairly robust - in particular categories like home improvement."
Retail NZ general manager of public affairs Greg Harford agreed.
"In the past they may have been constrained by a lack of available large sites, but smaller stores may be a way around this," Harford said. "Ikea will make its decisions based on gaining market share compared to the costs of maintaining a physical footprint in New Zealand.
"Potentially, smaller-format stores could be a way of testing the market."
In 2009, Hamilton's economic development agency called for an Ikea store to open there but the company response was dull.
Ikea has opened more than a dozen small-scale stores worldwide since 2015, typically measuring 900 square metres - just a fraction of its large-scale stores which often surpass 25,000 sq ms.
Bloomberg reported that the furniture company was trying to future-proof its global dominance with smaller outlets and with other initiatives including pop-up stores and expansion of its e-commerce footprint.
"We will test and try to develop a new world of Ikea," says Ikea chief executive officer Jesper Brodin told Bloomberg.
"It's a revolutionary speed that we're taking on right now."
A Facebook group called 'Bring Ikea to NZ' has more than 18,000 likes.
