Viewpoint
To Wi‐Fi or not to Wi‐Fi?
Chris O’Dell, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Hughes Europe talks to A1 Retail about in-store Wi-Fi, social networks and the modern customer experience!
Until now, many retailers have resisted providing in‐store Wi‐Fi because they have been afraid of losing customers who may use it to make real‐time price comparisons on their smart devices, a term known as ‘showrooming’. Yet conversely, studies have shown that encouraging shoppers to use their smart phones in‐store to compare prices, read product reviews, access in‐store offers and access the retailer’s website, can actually help to boost sales.
Smarter shoppers
Attracting and retaining mobile‐enabled and Internet‐savvy customers requires putting information at their fingertips and in their line of vision, helping them make informed choices while also creating personalised loyalty and reward programs to keep them coming back.
Bringing the retailer closer to its customer base, Wi‐Fi access in stores enables the tracking of customers’ online behaviour, including which competitors they are visiting and general browsing habits. A pool of customer data can be developed so the retailer can provide personalised targeting on future visits. Wi‐Fi can also facilitate push applications such as localised targeting of information, discounts and up‐selling to customers’ mobile devices.
Integrating in‐store Wi‐Fi with social media Until now, one of the main limiting factors of this is that retailers have typically only been able to secure basic customer data, which has been of limited marketing value to the business. To overcome this and help achieve a much greater understanding of customers, integrating in‐store Wi‐Fi with social media
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channels will open‐up enormous potential value, particularly when it takes place in a secure, PCI‐compliant environment. In the area of customer analytics, for example, by enabling easy guest Wi‐Fi access via Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ accounts, the retailer can establish detailed customer demographics around age, gender, buying habits and other interests. This also supports footfall tracking to establish which parts of the store attract the most traffic – even with devices not connected to the Wi‐Fi network. If successful, the provision of in‐store Wi‐Fi will be turned from business cost to one which improves service quality, providing essential information around customer buying patterns that can form the basis of more effective targeted and personalised marketing programmes.
Tomorrow’s network – today To achieve these objectives, high‐quality Wi‐Fi access is crucial. Without it, retailers run the risk of customers using their stores only as a showcase for online retailers, who may offer a cheaper price but not provide the breadth of
value‐added services possible in a physical shopping environment.
Added to this, the retail network must be robust enough to support an ever‐more complex multi‐channel environment. Maximum uptime is essential in supporting rapid POS, real‐time promotions, interactive digital signage and loyalty programmes. It must also meet the challenge of increasing security threats and compliance demands at a time when IT budgets are stretched to the limit.
Despite the inherent challenges faced, the latest technology can act as an enabler rather than a barrier, with new technologies and managed services helping to boost sales through providing a more personalised service, at the same time improving operational efficiencies and network performance.
Providing access to stock availability over the Wi‐Fi cloud frees up time for employees to spend on more valuable activities such as customer service. Deployment of Wi‐Fi‐ enabled tablets as interactive catalogues and order systems also significantly enhances this.
Performance matters
The key to success here is the adoption of an integrated Wi‐Fi platform backed by a comprehensive managed service. Latest developments in Wi‐Fi technology have overcome previous concerns over connectivity and bandwidth, with the result that retailers can access additional services utilising social media technologies, while at the same time maintaining the highest levels of security, in terms of both detection and prevention.
Automatic and on demand reporting helps the retailer ensure full and cost‐effective PCI compliance. Similarly, wireless intrusion prevention systems (WIPS) and Wi‐Fi protection secures the retail network from such threats as rogue access points and devices, wireless hacking and denial of service attacks, so ensuring that data is not compromised.
Given the continuing expanding breadth of applications and technology choices possible, it’s a daunting prospect for retailers to tackle wide‐ranging and in some cases multi‐site network implementations alone, especially in times of tight budgets and slow economies. For this reason, using a trusted managed network service partner to run the network can be a smart option. Rather than having to deal with various different communications providers, the partner organisation oversees time‐consuming activities such as installation and outlet surveys, ensuring the best quality coverage is achieved at the most competitive price.
Contact
Hughes Europe +44 (0)1908 425 300
www.hugheseurope.com
www.a1retailmagazine.com
A1
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