Introduction to nomophobia in retail

ChargeBox releases it's white paper on the impact of nomophobia

ChargeBox, the UK leading provider of secure device charging solutions, has undertaken customer research to establish the impact of a flat battery on the experience and spending of shoppers in retail.

Through the years in the charging industry, ChargeBox noted a clear correlation between a charged battery and shoppers’ extended dwell time in retail destinations.

Indeed, as mobile sessions on shopping Apps are growing at a rate of 174% per year, smartphones are more and more integrated into the customers’ shopping journey, from store location to price comparison and actual purchase. A flat battery, by preventing this, is seen by customers as a reason to cut short their shopping trip.

But more than only impacting dwell time, a flat battery, by creating a strong feeling of anxiety, turned out to have a tangible impact on shoppers’ enjoyment of they in-store shopping experience. A term first coined by the UK Post Office in 2008 refers to this anxiety as nomophobia, the fear of being without a mobile phone.

Chargebox decided to carry out extensive customer surveys in two popular shopping centres hosting its service, and reported that nomophobia affected 76% of its interviewed users. Offering a free charging solution relieved the interviewed shoppers from their stress of a dead battery, and enabled them to stay longer on site, triggering further unplanned spending.

Indeed, amongst the interviewed ChargeBox users, 56% spent money whilst their phones was on charge: 39% bought products, 17% were planning on spending money on food and beverages, and 32% were enabled to carry on window shopping, which they would not have been doing with the stress of a dead battery. The white paper, which gathers these statistics and expands further on the impact of nomophobia on retail, is available for download here.

ChargeBox, the UK leading provider of secure device charging solutions, has undertaken customer research to establish the impact of a flat battery on the experience and spending of shoppers in retail.


Through the years in the charging industry, ChargeBox noted a clear correlation between a charged battery and shoppers’ extended dwell time in retail destinations. 


Indeed, as mobile sessions on shopping Apps are growing at a rate of 174% per year, smartphones are more and more integrated into the customers’ shopping journey, from store location to price comparison and actual purchase. A flat battery, by preventing this, is seen by customers as a reason to cut short their shopping trip. 


But more than only impacting dwell time, a flat battery, by creating a strong feeling of anxiety, turned out to have a tangible impact on shoppers’ enjoyment of they in-store shopping experience. A term first coined by the UK Post Office in 2008 refers to this anxiety as nomophobia, the fear of being without a mobile phone. 


Chargebox decided to carry out extensive customer surveys in two popular shopping centres hosting its service, and reported that homophobia affected 76% of its interviewed users. Offering a free charging solution relieved the interviewed shoppers from their stress of a dead battery, and enabled them to stay longer on site, triggering further unplanned spending. 


Indeed, amongst the interviewed ChargeBox users, 56% spent money whilst their phones was on charge: 39% bought products, 17% were planning on spending money on food and beverages, and 32% were enabled to carry on window shopping, which they would not have been doing with the stress of a dead battery. The white paper, which gathers these statistics and expands further on the impact of nomophobia on retail, is available for download here.

ChargeBox powers students engagement at King’s College London

ChargeBox launches it's free to use charging solution at a prestigious university.

ChargeBox, the leading provider of secure device charging solutions, is teaming up with King’s College London, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, to provide free charging to students. ChargeBox has installed 24 of their new phone and tablet charging stations.

Mobile phones and tablets have become interactive learning devices for students, used for communication, research, note taking and much more. Successful universities are encouraging the use of portable devices and integrating them into the studying experience, with ubiquitous free Wi-Fi and bring your own device support on campus. Offering free device charging is the next step in the transition to omni-channel learning.

King’s College London is the first university in the UK to embrace secure phone and tablet charging, with the latest ChargeBox stations installed across the campus. Students will be able to securely charge their smartphones and tablets for 30 minutes, while carrying on learning and enjoying student life, stress free.

After a successful trial of ChargeBox+ smartphone charging stations earlier this year, King’s College London saw the need for tablet charging. ChargeBox jumped at the opportunity to launch its new charging solution, ChargeBox+ Max, a station with the capability to support most tablets in addition to all smartphones. ChargeBox estimates that the service will be used as many as a quarter of a millions times next year, benefiting a huge number of students.

Education is a primary target market for ChargeBox, in addition to retail and transport hubs, closely following King’s College London, we have delivered four ChargeBox+ Max to Said Business School, the business school of the University of Oxford.

Nick Leake, CIO of King’s College London said: “I am delighted we have been able to have ChargeBox provide on-campus charging facilities for our students. The telemetrics are excellent and we see high levels of usage as students recharge devices through the day. It is also great to be buying from a local British company with a really innovative product that is well designed. The team at ChargeBox have been a pleasure to work with and their product has enabled us to avoid expensive installation of power outlets in listed buildings around our estate.”

Ian Hobson, Founder and CEO of ChargeBox said: “We are delighted to be working with such a renowned university and look forward to a fruitful relationship. Our charging stations are highly secure and easy-to-use and we believe that they will contribute to the improvement of the life of Kings College London students enabling them to concentrate on their studies, rather than worrying about running out of battery.”

ChargeBox is delighted to be trusted by such renowned entities, and to contribute to the improvement of future world leaders’ engagement.

ChargeBox, the leading provider of secure device charging solutions, is teaming up with King’s College London, one of the most prestigious universities in the world, to provide free charging to students. ChargeBox has installed 24 of their new phone and tablet charging stations.


Mobile phones and tablets have become interactive learning devices for students, used for communication, research, note taking and much more. Successful universities are encouraging the use of portable devices and integrating them into the studying experience, with ubiquitous free Wi-Fi and bring your own device support on campus. Offering free device charging is the next step in the transition to omni-channel learning.


King’s College London is the first university in the UK to embrace secure phone and tablet charging, with the latest ChargeBox stations installed across the campus. Students will be able to securely charge their smartphones and tablets for 30 minutes, while carrying on learning and enjoying student life, stress free.


After a successful trial of ChargeBox+ smartphone charging stations earlier this year, King’s College London saw the need for tablet charging. ChargeBox jumped at the opportunity to launch its new charging solution, ChargeBox+ Max, a station with the capability to support most tablets in addition to all smartphones. ChargeBox estimates that the service will be used as many as a quarter of a millions times next year, benefiting a huge number of students.


Education is a primary target market for ChargeBox, in addition to retail and transport hubs, closely following King’s College London, we have delivered four ChargeBox+ Max to Said Business School, the business school of the University of Oxford.


Nick Leake, CIO of King’s College London said: “I am delighted we have been able to have ChargeBox provide on-campus charging facilities for our students. The telemetrics are excellent and we see high levels of usage as students recharge devices through the day. It is also great to be buying from a local British company with a really innovative product that is well designed. The team at ChargeBox have been a pleasure to work with and their product has enabled us to avoid expensive installation of power outlets in listed buildings around our estate.”


Ian Hobson, Founder and CEO of ChargeBox said: “We are delighted to be working with such a renowned university and look forward to a fruitful relationship. Our charging stations are highly secure and easy-to-use and we believe that they will contribute to the improvement of the life of Kings College London students enabling them to concentrate on their studies, rather than worrying about running out of battery.”


ChargeBox is delighted to be trusted by such renowned entities, and to contribute to the improvement of future world leaders’ engagement.

Free charging when you need it

Ian Hobson gives an interview on what it takes to build a world leading company.

ChargeBox's founder and Managing Director Ian Hobson gives a forward thinking interview for Kiosk Solutions, a leading European Magazine.

If Ian Hobson has his way, your phone will never run out of battery again. Using an innovative charging service, he aims to deliver secure, free charging in public places around the world.

Modern life relies heavily on smart device, in particular mobile phones. With a pocket-sized device offering quick and easy access to the internet for socialising, entertainment, good old-fashioned phone calls and more, it's no surprise we use them so much. We could live without them, of course, but when the power runs out it can sometimes feel like the world is about to end. And that's exactly where ChargeBox comes in...

To read more on how it all started and where ChargeBox is heading, 6 months after its successful crowdfunding campaign, read the full interview of ChargeBox's founder Ian Hobson here.