ChargeItSpot pioneered the concept in 2011, and installed kiosks in stores like Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Target soon thereafter. Their pitch to retailers? Customers come into stores to make a purchase, but the need to recharge their phone could motivate them to linger and buy more.
"Customers are coming into stores after shopping on their devices beforehand, and are planning their trips around these predetermined purchases," said eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman.
ChargeItSpot commissioned a white paper with The Wharton School, Helios Analytics and GfK to test their concept in 2018. Shoppers who used the charging station stayed in the store twice as long and spent 1.47 times more than if they hadn’t used the station. “Since we started offering these kiosks in 2017, guests have charged their phones hundreds of thousands of times," Target representative Jacqueline DeBuse told The Ringer.