I needed to replace a 30+ year old desk lamp. I checked Living Lighting and Royal Lighting before going to Ikea.
Ikea had a nice-looking, simple, effective lamp, more to my taste than at the other stores. The specialist stores were helpful and knowledgeable but the lamps were more ornate and quite a bit more expensive.
Ikea does cost more time. The you are forced to go follow too much of the predetermined meandering path through the store. There are short-cuts, but not enough.