The Twenty-Teens seem to be all about the blending of inventory for retailers. Grocery stores are selling furniture; department stores are selling groceries; drug stores are selling health food and dollar stores are selling everything. How does a consumer choose which store to buy what?
Perhaps the 21st century shopper isn’t as worried about your collection of wares as they are about convenience. What if you offered your customer a convenient service while they shopped in your store?
ChargeItSpot.com was founded by CEO Douglas Baldasare who recognized a common dilemma today for many of us—the need to charge a device while not at home or in the office. ChargeItSpot comes with an app that will direct you to the nearest charging station, and what is truly nice for consumers is that the phone charging is free. Consumers can charge their devices in a secure locker for worry-free shopping. Retailers pay a fee based on the number of units providing the service and the length of time they keep them; for most stores that is about two years.
Large chain stores such as Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales and Urban Outfitters have tried the units and found they helped keep customers in the stores, and that they spent more while shopping. Dana Mensah, marketing team leader at Whole Foods, says, “Our customers and Team Members love ChargeItSpot! All of the lockers are regularly filled by happy people who know that their phones are safely charging while they shop. It’s been a great addition to our customer service focused business!”
Unfortunately, this service is only available in 18 U.S. states currently but the company hopes to roll-out their charging kiosks to over 1000 stores before the end of the year.
If you currently provide a fee or low-cost convenient service to your customers, IHR would like to hear about it.
