Recent research has found that retailers who offer in-store WiFi are seeing the benefits with an increase in their bottom line and sales.
IHL Research carried out program into the use of in-store WiFi: “Impact of Store Networks and WiFi on Customer Experience”. When looking into the influence of WiFi in retail stores, the data did not disappoint.
The research was carried out on over 100 retailers to quantify upsell opportunities when WiFi and associate mobile were used.
Overall, 28% said they had experienced a positive impact on customer loyalty and a 28% increase in time spent in store. This lead to a 2% increase in sales. The figures were greatest for hospitality but even general merchandise saw a 2.2% increase in sales.
Retailers were afraid the customers would use the WiFi and compare prices with online store to buy items cheaper elsewhere. However, retailers are in fact finding that this is not true.
Staff Use of WiFi
Even more interesting, staff use of WiFi had a more dramatic influence on sales. General merchandise stores found that it gave a 4.3% increase in sales. The reason for this is because again it led to an increase in customer loyalty.
Sales were increased due to having information on hand through an iPad, enabling the employee to help to make a sale, choosing an accessory as an upsell at clothing retailers.
The staff-only WiFi also let other staff replicate the best sales people by providing the right information at the right time. When it came to hospitality, it helped ensure that less time is spent in the office and more on the shop floor.
Even in food, drug and convenience stores, there was an increase in sales. This was because tasks were made more simple and quicker, including things like looking up inventory- delivery statuses and so on.
This report suggests that retailers could use more of the analytics tools. Traffic counting by phones is the most popular use of analytics–57%. Almost half of respondents analyzed session duration.
Other uses of analytics include which device has been used (49%), hotspot used (41%), repeat visits (39%) and time of use (32%) . This means that more can be made of the powerful analytics tools on offer.
Dramatic Financial Results
Extra sales produced with no additional outlay for the retailer mean big financial reward. For example, in general merchandise stores, there is a 32.1% addition to the bottom line that can be attributed to WiFi.
Although most retailers offer some form of WiFi service in-store, the report notes that it was not being used to full potential in the UK. Less than one in five retailers was leveraging WiFi to provide shoppers with opt-in offers.
The IHL report concludes that WiFi is a key opportunity for increased loyalty and sales.
WiFi is being increasingly offered in different food and beverage places in major cities across Iran. However, no data is available on how effective the system is at increasing sales.
