What If You Can Buy Anything With Time?

You should check out this IKEA's campaign

April 01, 2025

Have you ever felt like you were wasting time stuck in traffic to get to a store?

Long drives, crowded roads, and the frustration of feeling like your time could have been better spent elsewhere - we have all been there.

Now, imagine if, instead of feeling frustrated, your time was actually valued. That’s exactly what IKEA did with their Buy With Your Time campaign in Dubai.

They turned a wasted moment into something rewarding. How?

Let's dig in.

Campaign Overview

  • Campaign Name: Buy With Your Time

  • Campaign Dates: September 2018

  • Industry: Retail (Furniture)

  • Target Audience: IKEA shoppers in Dubai, especially those who spend a lot of time commuting

IKEA’s Buy With Your Time campaign was about rewarding for customers in Dubai. Instead of asking people to pay with money, IKEA gave them a chance to pay with their time.

In Dubai, many people spend a lot of time stuck in traffic when traveling to stores.

IKEA saw this as an opportunity to do something creative. So, they decided to allow customers to pay using the time they spent driving to IKEA’s store.

The longer it took someone to reach the store, the more they could save on shopping.

IKEA used Google Maps to track traveling time, and when shoppers arrived, they showed IKEA staff the time they spent getting there.

For example, if it took 20 minutes to drive to the store, they could get 20% off their purchase. If someone spent an hour, they could get 60% off.

That made the time customers spent in traffic feel valuable and turned it into something they benefited from. And that’s how the IKEA team designed the campaign.

They wanted to make people feel that the brand respected their time. It was a fun way to encourage more people to visit the store while making them feel appreciated.

IKEA made the shopping experience different from others by giving discounts based on travel time, helping them stand out in the crowded retail market.

Campaign Objectives

IKEA’s Buy With Your Time campaign had four main goals:

1. Make Customers Feel Valued

IKEA wanted to show customers that their time mattered. Instead of letting people feel frustrated about long travel times, IKEA turned that time into something useful.

By allowing shoppers to pay with their time, IKEA made them feel appreciated and strengthened customer loyalty.

2. Increase Store Visits

IKEA’s stores are usually located on the outskirts of cities, making them harder to reach. The campaign encouraged more people to visit the store by offering a unique reward.

Instead of shopping online or choosing a closer competitor, customers were motivated to visit IKEA because they knew they could get discounts based on their travel time.

3. Use Technology in a Smart Way

IKEA wanted to show they could use technology to benefit customers. By using Google Maps, they tracked how long each person spent traveling.

This was an innovative way to personalize discounts and make the shopping experience more engaging. The campaign proved that technology could be used for more than just marketing. It could directly impact the shopping experience.

4. Create a Marketing Buzz

They designed the campaign to grab attention, and it worked. The idea of paying with time was unusual and exciting, making people talk about it across media.

That helped IKEA strengthen its brand image as a creative and customer-first company. The campaign got in customers and also helped get free worldwide publicity.

By focusing on these objectives, IKEA turned a simple idea into a huge marketing success.

Results

  • The campaign led to a 32% rise in store footfall compared to the key performance indicator (KPI) set for that day.

  • It got 4.2 billion impressions and secured $14 million worth of free earned media. This highlights its reach and media traction in over 72 countries.

Time-Based Rewards for Customer Engagement

  • Concept: Create a time-based reward system where customers get benefits based on how long they engage with your brand, whether it's time spent on your website, in-store, or interacting with your content.

How It Works:

  1. Track engagement: Use tools like Google Analytics, CRM data, or mobile app tracking to calculate time spent by customers.

  2. Set reward tiers: Offer discounts, free products, or exclusive content based on engagement time.

    • Example: Spent 10 minutes browsing? Get a 10% discount.

    • Watched our webinar for 30 minutes? Unlock a free eBook.

  3. Promote it everywhere: Use social media, email, and website pop-ups to announce the reward system.

  4. Make it limited-time: Create urgency by running it for a short period to boost participation.

Why It Works:

  • Increases engagement → Customers stay longer, boosting conversion.

  • Creates a fun experience → Customers feel rewarded for their time.

  • Drives more traffic → Encourages visits to your website or store.

Use this strategy to turn customer time into brand loyalty!

Conclusion

IKEA’s Buy With Your Time campaign is a perfect example of how smart marketing can turn everyday frustrations into opportunities. They took something people usually dislike, long travel times, and turned it into a reason for customers to visit their store.

By using technology, they didn’t just increase foot traffic but built stronger relationships with their audience. Remember, great marketing isn’t just about selling.

It’s about making customers feel valued. Now, let’s talk marketing!

  • What’s the most creative discount strategy you have seen a brand use?

  • Do you think time-based rewards could work in industries outside retail? Why or why not?

Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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People share, read, and generally engage more with any type of content when it’s surfaced through friends and people they know and trust.

Malorie Lucich