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.