We’ve all felt the sting of surge pricing – that frustrating moment when demand spikes, and the price of a ride, meal, or ticket jumps with it. IKEA, true to form, flipped the script in the most Swedishly clever way possible.

On a rainy London day, the brand launched “reverse surge pricing” for umbrellas. Instead of charging more when people needed them most, IKEA did the opposite: the wetter it got, the cheaper their umbrellas became. What would usually be £5 dropped to just £2.50 as the rain poured down, turning a dreary commute into a masterclass in marketing empathy.

And what a brilliant cultural statement. By leaning into the everyday frustrations of city life, IKEA showed it understands not just how people live at home, but how they move through the world. The campaign generated instant buzz, with streets flooded (literally and figuratively) with IKEA’s iconic blue umbrellas.

This is why IKEA continues to lead the way in retail creativity. They don’t just sell furniture or homewares – they sell problem-solving, with a clever wit. And in a market where consumer trust is everything, gestures like this go a long way.

Our takeaway: Sometimes the smartest marketing move isn’t to extract more value, but to give some back. Reverse surge pricing turned a rainy inconvenience into brand love – and that’s worth far more than a few pounds on an umbrella.