Partnership


our shoppers. We should be seen to be enabling shoppers in the physical environment and wi-fi is critical to us doing this as it bridges the gap between online and in store.” The situation has been accentuated as shopping centres


WiFi Free


Get free WiFi throughout Cabot Circus and browse the net and our stores.


Just check your WiFi is on, then select ‘WiFi Zone - The Cloud’ from the available network list, open the browser and follow the on-screen instructions to register or log on.


www.cabotcircus.com 15993 CV CC A1 Posters - WiFi poster.indd 1 03/01/2012 15:48


improve their food and beverage off er. The upside has been to increase dwell time, which has further driven the desire of shoppers to check their emails and engage in social media activities when sat in the centres’ cafes and restaurants. Free wi-fi is the obvious solution and early evidence at


de s k top


Cabot Circus shows it is proving benefi cial. Rosie Collins, store manager at The Body Shop, has certainly been enjoying its advantages: “It is positive news that Cabot Circus was the fi rst shopping centre in the region to provide free wi-fi for shoppers. It means our customers can easily surf the web, use social media, and even carry on working while in the centre – thereby enhancing their overall experience.” Russell suggests it is early movers such as Land Securities


and Tesco that will reap the benefi ts of implementing wi-fi : “There is an increasing expectation that people will have access to good data connections and it is, therefore, those retailers and shopping centres that embrace this bringing together both offl ine and online that will benefi t.” Having wi-fi in stores and shopping centres also provides


operational benefi ts. Russell cites the possibility of using the connectivity for implementing mobile tills and taking EPoS data back from the stores to head offi ce for analysing. This has been part of the strategy at Aurora Fashions,


properties. It was rolled out to Bristol’s Cabot Circus in January and will be in all Land Securities’ centres by the end of 2012 in what is a fi rst for a UK landlord. Land Securities digital marketing manager Todd King


explains that this is one of many projects being explored, which aim to provide an omnichannel platform for retailers in its schemes: “Our digital strategy is delivering a number of market leading initatives; from mobile-optimised websites and Google Product Search to wi-fi roll-out. We’re creating the platforms on which more innovations can be built.” There is a growing realisation that mobile connectivity


needs to be embraced and used as a tool to enhance the customers’ experience in shopping centres. This enables consumers to search for retailers, look for specifi c product details, compare prices, buy goods for home delivery or click- and-collect, and share shopping experiences with friends via social platforms.


Sky’s the limit The Cloud managing director Vince Russell says: “It’s about creating a great environment for people to spend time and shop. Today if you are sitting there [in a shopping centre] and you can’t get decent internet access then you’ll probably wander off .” King says: “It’s an absolute given for our digital strategy to


endeavour to provide a completely seamless service off ering. It makes sense for us as landlords, the retailers and, of course,


which is gaining operational benefi t ahead of a likely launch of wi-fi for customer use. Wi-fi has provided Aurora with the infrastructure to roll out iPads, which are used as an alterna- tive to fi xed tills and as a device from which customers can undertake staff -assisted orders for out-of-stock goods that can be delivered to the store or to customers’ homes. By the end of the year these devices will be in a third of the


It’s about creating a great environment for people to spend time and shop


Vince Russell, The Cloud


group’s stores – this encompasses the Oasis, Coast, and Warehouse brands. Ish Patel, group omnichannel director at Aurora Fashions, states: “Store employees have got [internet] access in the back offi ce but they also now need it in the front of store because we need teams equipped to give the [best] levels of service.” What will also benefi t retailers using wi-fi in store will be


the emergence of mobile payments. Lucht suggests that providing payment solutions via wi-fi connectivity will help negate the need for costly near fi eld communication payment implementations and disruptive till re-fi tting. It is clear that wi-fi connectivity can off er real tangible


benefi ts for consumers, retailers and shopping centre operators. King concludes: “We see an interesting behavioural change playing out in the digital space right now. The internet is changing the way we live; it’s reshaping the way we communicate, how we interact, the services we use and, of course, how and where we shop. And the game-changer here is the smartphone. “Bringing wi-fi to our centres will align in-centre and out-of-


centre experiences, creating an enhanced user experience for our shoppers, regardless of whether in the centre, in the car, or at home – that’s the point, to provide a consistent service off ering across all channels.” ●


autumn 2012 15


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