A global company has found a way to commoditise time. What can other businesses learn from their example?
Lex Luthor once said: “Stocks may rise and fall. Utility and transportation networks may collapse. People are no damn good but they will always need land and they’ll pay through the nose to get it… It’s the only thing they’re not making any more of.”
Not for the first time in his life, Lex Luthor was wrong. This is because there actually is one thing people aren’t making any more of: time.
I’m reading a book at the moment that has the following quote on its back cover: Have you seen my time? I seem to have misplaced it.”
Some of the world’s brightest minds constantly allude to the value of time and how they’re desperate to make the most of it. When Bill Gates’ wife was asked what he values the most she immediately answered: “Time. It’s the only thing he can’t get any more of.”
Is it any wonder that organisations are trying to come up with different ways of valuing time? But one organisation has taken things a step further.
Ikea’s Dubai store made headlines this week for offering a ‘time-travelled’ discount. No, I’m not talking about whether customers have come from the year 1955, but rather, how far they travel in order to undertake their shopping.
The idea is, the more time you spend travelling to IKEA, the more you can buy. As Forbes explains:
“Dubbed, ‘buy with your time’, the idea behind the new promotion is that customers usually spend an inordinate amount of time travelling to IKEA outlets, usually because said outlets reside on the outskirts of towns. In view of this, IKEA has added ‘time currency’ prices for every item in its Dubai stores, which are based on the average Dubai salary. As such, customers are now able to buy products using all the time they’ve spent travelling to IKEA over the years. “
Perhaps biggest of all though, this is a real point of difference for IKEA. People would now, potentially, be enticed to travel further to an IKEA store in person (which increases their likelihood to spend on other items in IKEA such as meatballs) rather than shop online at a competitor – where you’re still paying for delivery anyway.
What big ideas are worth testing in your company that no one else has thought of?
This is but the latest in a long line of IKEA innovations. From in-store sleepovers, to selling home insurance, to personality testing, IKEA is constantly looking for new ways to help it stand apart from the crowd.
Perhaps other businesses can use IKEA for a bit of inspiration. What big ideas are worth testing in your company that no one else has thought of? What could be the new special something that helps entice people to buy from your organisation rather than a competitor?
There’s plenty of new ideas out there. If only we had the time to think of them.
