Marshalls is Taking a Page out of Ikea’s Playbook

Ikea is the king on keeping customers in the store. The company knows that consumers cut their shopping short whenever they get hungry, their child gets antsy or whenever they simply decide that they might find something better in a nearby store. So, Ikea has taken steps to reduce those distractions. Its stores feature a cafeteria for hungry shoppers and a day care service for shoppers with children. Moreover, the stores are located out in the middle of nowhere, which reduces a consumer’s ability to shop around (as well as reducing the cost of rent). While Marshalls hasn’t gone nearly as far, it has taken a simple step which has the possibility of increasing customer attention and time spent in the store.

Marshalls has introduced free phone charging stations. Whenever a customer comes in, they can lock their phone in one of the charging stations and continue their shopping without worrying that their phone will die and ultimately going home because of it. Separating the customer from their phone has several other benefits though as well. First, the customer spends more time shopping instead of replying to friends and family. Second, consumers are less likely to leave the store because a friend wants to hang out or because they see what time it is. With more and more people relying on their phone to tell time, less and less people are wearing watches. As a result, no phone, no idea of time. And finally, with the phone out of reach, customers are less likely to go online to see if the product is available somewhere else for a cheaper price. They are also less likely to leave the store to go to another one as a result of a geotargeted notification from a competing brand. In the end, the introduction of a phone charging station in Marshalls has the potential to decrease customer distractions and increasing the time that consumers spend in the store.

Would you leave your phone in a charging box while you shop? Why or why not??

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