M&S plans to lure young by renting out phone chargers

MARKS & Spencer plans to offer shoppers nationwide the ability to rent portable phone chargers in a bid to attract younger customers on to the high street.

The chain has partnered with London-based start-up Chargedup to offer “rent a power bank” chargers across its stores later this year, following successful trials in London.

Customers can take the portable charging packs with them as they shop and then return them to any Chargedup station in store. The service costs 50p for 30 minutes of mobile phone charging. “[The chargers] will be attracting people of a younger demographic into the clothing sections,” said 23-year-old Chargedup chief executive Hugo Tilmouth.

It is the latest move by the struggling high street chain to boost its sales figures in the face of competition from online giants such as Amazon.

Marks & Spencer recently posted a 2.2pc drop in total like-for-like sales over the 13 weeks to Dec 29 after suffering lower footfall in stores and an attempt to strip out promotions on its food ranges. Steve Rowe, the chief executive, said that guessing when the retailer would see a recovery in sales was “a bit crystal ball, particularly in terms of the consumer backdrop … I wouldn’t want to call it”.

The deal follows an announcement this week by Chargedup that it had raised £1.2m in funding from Jamjar Investments, the fund run by the founders of Innocent, the smoothies firm, and The Garage.

More than 250 Chargedup charging stations operate in London currently, but the business plans to expand its network across the UK and Europe with its new funding.