You Can Pay with Time Instead of Money at This IKEA
Going to IKEA means spending an entire day browsing floors filled with stylish, affordable furniture and eating delicious meatballs at its on-site restaurant. But the Swedish retailer has so much to offer that its enormous stores are typically located far away from city centers. So to encourage customers to make the trek to its stores, IKEA is now letting them pay with...time.
According to Engadget, IKEA’s new “Buy With Your Time” initiative lets Dubai shoppers purchase products with a currency based on how long it takes to travel to the store. “We think it’s only right to reward our customers’ efforts by repaying them for the time spent reaching us,” an IKEA spokesperson said in a statement, according to Forbes. “It’s our way of helping the Dubai community make the most of every minute."
So how does it work? At checkout, show the cashier your Google Maps Timeline, which records all of your past trips. Then, the cashier will convert your time on the road into money. The rate of conversion was determined by the average income levels in the United Arab Emirates. This means an hour and 55 minute drive for Dubai shoppers equals a Billy bookcase. Traveling 49 minutes amounts to a Lack table. Even a five minute drive could earn customers a veggie hotdog.
Right now, the “Buy With Your Time” program is only available in the United Arab Emirates where a new store in Jebel Ali just opened this past December.
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