A noticeable shift is taking place across Europe’s largest retailers. Chief executives who once reserved their communications for annual reports, investor presentations and corporate press releases are now using LinkedIn to speak directly to the public. The platform was built for professionals, yet many of the messages being published today sound as if they are aimed at shoppers standing in a supermarket aisle.
The latest example comes from Ingka Group CEO Juvencio Maeztu, who announced on LinkedIn that IKEA will reduce prices on hundreds of products as part of a major affordability investment. Instead of discussing strategy, productivity or shareholder returns, he highlighted everyday products such as the POÄNG chair in Germany falling from €179 to €119 and the KALLAX shelving unit in the UK dropping from £60 to £49. It reads less like a corporate update and more like a message to families trying to manage rising living costs.
IKEA is far from alone. Executives at Carrefour, Marks & Spencer, Aldi, and other major European retailers are increasingly using LinkedIn in the same way. Their posts focus on lower prices, store investments, sustainability initiatives, employee stories and community projects rather than purely financial performance. The audience may be LinkedIn’s professional community, but the language often feels designed for consumers.
This reflects a broader change in corporate communication. Today’s CEOs are becoming public-facing ambassadors for their brands. Instead of relying entirely on marketing departments, they are building personal visibility and trust through their own accounts. When consumers see a chief executive personally explaining a price reduction or a new initiative, the message can appear more authentic than a traditional advertisement.
There is, however, an interesting contradiction. LinkedIn remains primarily a business networking platform where suppliers, retailers, recruiters and industry professionals exchange ideas. When CEOs fill their feeds with consumer-focused messages, the distinction between professional communication and consumer marketing becomes blurred. Suppliers looking for strategic insights may instead find promotional-style announcements that could just as easily appear on Instagram or Facebook.
Even so, the trend appears to be growing rather than fading. In an era where authenticity matters and executives are expected to be more visible than ever, LinkedIn has become an important stage for corporate leadership. For the retail industry, it signals a new communication model in which the CEO is no longer speaking only to investors and employees but also directly to millions of shoppers, even on a platform originally created for professionals.