How WiFi creates more conversions

Customer insight is no longer just about understanding purchasing behaviour. In-store WiFi is becoming ubiquitous and omni-channel marketing the accepted norm.

By Karl Gilbank, Sales Director, airangel wifi

There’s nothing new about using customer insight to improve customer service and sales – retailers have been doing this for years by positioning complementary products together in-store or by offering online ‘customers who bought this, also bought that’ buying suggestions.

Integrating ecommerce data with WiFi solutions now means that retailers can combine their understanding of when and what customers buy with where they are physically located in-store. The result is not only a better experience for customers, but also better conversion rates for retailers.

Here are the three key aspects of in-store WiFi that retailers need to be considering if they are to stay in the game and ahead of their competition:

o    Integrate WiFi with ecommerce / CRM data
o    Use their WiFi infrastructure to locate customers in-store
o    Make WiFi central to improving conversion rates and customer loyalty

WiFi and ecommerce working together

Retailers need to not only track sales and profit but also monitor key metrics such as footfall, conversion rates and average transaction value in their stores. However most retailers just rely on manually tracking the volume of shoppers in and out of stores.

By linking WiFi usage in-store to ecommerce tracking, retailers can now more effectively manage everything from staffing levels to stock control, promotions and push marketing. This means a better customer experience, which in turn means greater customer loyalty.

Tracking online activity along with physical presence and proximity data connects what shoppers do online against their in-store activities. Being able to identify customers as they enter astore and understand their interactions is crucial.

For example, you can see how an online marketing campaign affects the frequency of store visits or to what extent shoppers are using social media during their visits. Even just reviewing conversion rates from store entrants to transactions completed isimmensely powerful.

Location, location, location

With so much choice available to the customer, knowing where they are, as well as how, what and when they buy, can make all the difference to winning or losing a sale. Providing a mobilephone number in exchange for free WiFi, or when shopping online, is now considered an acceptable trade-off for many consumers.

SMS text messaging can now be linked to the retailer’s WiFi and messages sent to these customers, as they pass a specific point inside or near to the store, so long as their phone is switched on and WiFi enabled. Retailers can now alert customers to special promotions that would otherwise rely exclusively on in-store displays.

But even when the mobile number is not known or the phone isn’t connected to a WiFi network, emerging WiFi sensor technology is soon going to enable retailers to identify the whereabouts of customers.

While their phone is searching for anetwork to connect to, its location is identified and by converting this data into a real-time footfall record, retailers can predict customer movement patterns and plan according to their customers’ location and purchasing behaviour.

Buy here and buy now

Around a quarter of shoppers now browse in-store then compare prices online on their smartphones. Of these, around four out of every ten will then buy elsewhere. It’s not surprising then that some retailers think that free in-store WiFi makes this process easier. Howwrong they are! The key is to improve the in-store experience with better customer service. Providing free WiFi is a vital element of this.

For example, a shopper goes to a store to buy a coat. They find the one they love, but can’t find it in their size. They use the store’s free WiFi to check online.

As an existing on-line customer, they are then directed to the store’s on-line store, where they place their order or they are prompted to ask a member of staff for help. Showrooming is no longer a threat, but an opportunity to interact and personalise the experience.

WiFi CRM can ensure that retailers can join up the dots between ecommerce and in-store shopping. That’s good news for retailers and even better news for their customers.

For more information visit www.airangel.com