Joe Giordano, Co-founder of ChargeApp says that airport retailers could increase store penetration and sales by pushing timely notifications to them – such as promotions, information about product launches or offers – via the platform.

 

 

Giordano says this tried and tested app has been very well-received by some of the biggest retail and food chains on the High Street. TRBusiness interviewed him recently about the app’s potential travel retail plans, and how the industry could benefit.

 

Why should travel retailers partner with Chargeapp?

Airport departure lounges are filled with waiting passengers all heads down, staring at their phones and today’s travellers are using phones for online check-in, electronic boarding passes and to access updates on arrivals and departures.

 

With passengers increasingly using their mobiles in this way, the prospect of a phone running out of charge at an airport is a particularly grim one for travellers who have become reliant on them for access to important electronic travel documents and journey information. Yet flight delays combined with use of battery-sapping apps to while away the time means that this is a growing concern.

 

Airport retailers are starting to capitalise on the opportunity to fulfil a consumer need by installing charging stations in store and now they can benefit from the latest generation of smart apps, such as ChargeApp, to boost consumer spend while they are in store.

 

Whilst travellers are charging their phones at an in-store charging station, there is a lucrative marketing opportunity for retailers to engage with them by sending push notifications to their mobile with promotions and offers. These can be used in a variety of ways to meet the brand needs.

 

For example, a typical ‘buy one, get one half price today’ offer could help to increase basket-size on last minute holiday essentials and refreshments before they travel; while ‘money off your next visit’ vouchers can incentivise repeat purchases with the brand, as well as customer loyalty.

 

Which retail partners do you already have?

We are currently partnered with the likes of John Lewis, Pret-A-Manger, McDonalds, Starbucks, Topman and Waitrose to name just a few. We currently have a network of over 3,500 charging points across Europe listed on the app.

 

Are these partners pleased with the results from the ChargeApp interaction so far?

Absolutely. Retail brands are increasingly recognising the value that ChargeApp can bring by driving consumer footfall into their stores housing charging stations. However, the really clever functionality for retailers is its marketing capabilities.

 

As well as giving consumers a reason to visit a store, the app also allows retailers to target shoppers with promotions to keep them in the store and boost expenditure, pushing out notifications instantaneously after they’ve finished charging their phone.

 

This targeted communication allows retailers to encourage customers to spend more while in store or incentivise them to revisit.

 

At which airports/locations is ChargeApp currently operating?

All the major UK airports (Heathrow and Gatwick etc) and the international hubs in Europe.

 

Which markets/regions/specific locations would you like to move into?

We are ramping-up the roll-out of ChargeApp across Europe. One of our most recent partnerships is with charge point installer Doc-Station, who have more than 150 stations in Switzerland.

 

We’ve also just partnered with Chargepoint and Lovefone, who also provide phone repair services. In addition, we’re rapidly expanding in Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Finland.

 

As well as growing our network of charging points featured on ChargeApp, we want to concentrate on our unique brand marketing feature and develop more offers and promotions. It’s a really exciting time for us.