What’s behind the shift from concerns about showrooming to embracing in-store Wi-Fi? Increasingly, retailers acknowledge that they can’t stop shoppers from getting online and from making the internet part of their purchase process. Early on, the opposite was true: retailers were afraid that price transparency would be an end to their business model, and some even threatened to cover their facilities in
metal cages to block any kind of communication signal. The reality is that these tactics only drive shoppers away from the store and back online where they can check reviews, compare prices and do other research to make an informed purchase decision. Savvy retailers realize that making it easy and convenient for the shopper to do their research in the store is the winning strategy. The longer the shopper stays in-store, the more likely they are going to buy and the more they will purchase.
But why would a shopper connect to a store's Wi-Fi network versus their existing 3G/4G connection?
As anyone who has shopped in the back of a large warehouse-style retail store knows, cellular data connections don’t always work well indoors. That, along with the shift away from unlimited cellular data plans, makes the option of free, high-speed internet access an incredibly attractive amenity to shoppers.
Mobidia recently came out with a white paper comparing smartphone Wi-Fi to 3G usage. Given that a smartphone user needs to take an explicit action to connect to a Wi-Fi network (vs. the default option of always-on 3G data), conventional wisdom would predict that 3G usage would be significantly higher than Wi-Fi. But Mobidia’s study found that a large amount of data usage is already going over Wi-Fi, particularly for applications like web browsing, YouTube, and social media. It would seem that shoppers are ready, willing, and able to use in-store WiFi networks.
Why does this matter to retailers?
By directly providing internet service shoppers via their smartphones (versus having a carrier disintermediate them), retailers have another opportunity to learn more about what is relevant to their customers as well as getting the credit for enhancing their overall shopping experience. Guest Wi-FI networks are not only seen as an amenity to the shopper (keeping them in the store longer) but can be an additional source of business intelligence and act as a new direct form of communication, bridging the digital and physical shopping channels.
metal cages to block any kind of communication signal. The reality is that these tactics only drive shoppers away from the store and back online where they can check reviews, compare prices and do other research to make an informed purchase decision. Savvy retailers realize that making it easy and convenient for the shopper to do their research in the store is the winning strategy. The longer the shopper stays in-store, the more likely they are going to buy and the more they will purchase.
But why would a shopper connect to a store's Wi-Fi network versus their existing 3G/4G connection?
As anyone who has shopped in the back of a large warehouse-style retail store knows, cellular data connections don’t always work well indoors. That, along with the shift away from unlimited cellular data plans, makes the option of free, high-speed internet access an incredibly attractive amenity to shoppers.
Mobidia recently came out with a white paper comparing smartphone Wi-Fi to 3G usage. Given that a smartphone user needs to take an explicit action to connect to a Wi-Fi network (vs. the default option of always-on 3G data), conventional wisdom would predict that 3G usage would be significantly higher than Wi-Fi. But Mobidia’s study found that a large amount of data usage is already going over Wi-Fi, particularly for applications like web browsing, YouTube, and social media. It would seem that shoppers are ready, willing, and able to use in-store WiFi networks.
Why does this matter to retailers?
By directly providing internet service shoppers via their smartphones (versus having a carrier disintermediate them), retailers have another opportunity to learn more about what is relevant to their customers as well as getting the credit for enhancing their overall shopping experience. Guest Wi-FI networks are not only seen as an amenity to the shopper (keeping them in the store longer) but can be an additional source of business intelligence and act as a new direct form of communication, bridging the digital and physical shopping channels.
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