The Challenge:

With more than 2500 stores worldwide, Foot Locker is the leading global athletic footwear and apparel retailer.  Post pandemic, Foot Locker wanted to change their store experience.  From smaller stores where the focus is on speedy transactions to larger stores focused on providing services and experiences that encourage dwell time and repeat visits. 

Smartphone charging was identified amongst a handful of new initiatives to trial and gauge customer response. As a result, in early 2021, Foot Locker introduced smartphone charging to their first flagship store. The customer response was overwhelmingly positive.  Foot Locker is now committed not just to smartphone charging but to provisions for charging all mobile devices (tablets and laptops too) as a new standard in their store experience.

The Solution:

Foot Locker’s initial idea was to provide smartphone charging only in areas of dwell with a solution that allowed customers to use their device whilst it charged.  The ChargeBox ‘stay and charge’ solution ChargeHub was chosen and initially integrated into existing furniture.  With the huge success of the service and the need to scale it to more stores across multiple locations, ChargeBox developed a bespoke coffee table solution for Foot Locker.  

The customer response to smartphone charging also led to the trialling of ChargeBox Fast lockers to cater to other customer behaviours.  ChargeBox Fast is a ‘lock and leave’ solution which allows customers to safely and securely lock their device to charge whilst they shop.

Both ‘stay and charge’ and ‘lock and leave’ solutions have now been adopted by Foot Locker and you can find ChargeBox in Foot Locker stores in the UK, Spain, France, Belgium and Italy with many more locations being added in 2022.

Business Benefits:

Customer adoption and usage have exceeded expectations.  At some stores, up to 75 customer devices are being charged every single day with an average charge time of over 7 minutes.  Shortly after installation, a customer survey in Barcelona showed that 24% of customers were aware of phone charging in-store and 6% had used it. 

Usage of charging is monitored alongside footfall, sales and each store’s NPS score to track the ROI of the service.

The Foot Locker executive team have already agreed that for the relatively low cost of providing the service (versus an interactive video wall for example) the adoption and positive feedback has been exceptional.  It’s a small change that is making a big difference!

“The staff are listening. Recently I went to the new Foot Locker in Rue Neuve, the store is spacious! Small bonus for beautiful and comfortable armchairs with phone charging cables!” - Brussels Customer Feedback

“Having comprehensively reviewed the market and seen first hand the charging solutions other retailers offer, we know we have chosen the right partner.  ChargeBox products are intuitive and easy to use and importantly they give a much faster and deeper charge than anything else available.  And that's what really matters for the customer.  If you’re offering to charge their device the percentage battery you give them in a short period of time will be the barometer of their satisfaction.” - Director, Customer Connectivity at Foot Locker