Inside Outdoor Spring 2016

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experience, store executives
get a path toward the holy grail
of connecting with customer
across “all touchpoints,” and
CFO types get their ROI.
To understand the
importance of Wi-Fi inside
the store, one only needs
to take a gander at in-store
shopper behavior. Quite
simply, the smartphone
changes everything.
Despite the relatively recent
ubiquity of smartphones, about
three-quarters of nearly 23,000
online shoppers surveyed by
PwC report to using a mobile
device while browsing in-store.
Among those, more than a
third are comparing prices with
competitors or researching
products, while more than three
in 10 are accessing coupons
or promotional codes. Not surprisingly,
Millennials (aged 18 to 34 years old) are
more likely to engage in these activities
than older adults. They are 35 percent
more likely to compare prices, 43 percent
more likely to research product and 38
percent more likely to access discount
offers. Within the U.S., more than eight
in 10 Millennials use their mobile devices
while in-store.
A separate study by Deloitte,
meanwhile, estimates that
mobile influences 28 percent of
in-store sales around the globe,
with the U.S. leading in terms of
this digital influence among the
six mature markets studied. At
the same time, consumers tell
Forrester researchers that they
also want store associates to
be digitally enabled. More than
seven in 10 say it’s important
for store employees to check
store inventory when a shelf is
empty, while 67 percent want
associates to be able to look up
additional product information.
More than half of shoppers
expect employees to be able to
look up and reserve inventory at
a nearby store.
“Millennials play a large
role in the in-store shopping
revolution, as their smartphones are
basically an evolutionary extension
that the retail industry has yet to
catch up with,” says Patrick Connolly,
principal analyst at ABI Research.
“Imagine that you are shopping in a store where
the sales associates are equipped with mobile devides.
What would you want and expect them to be able
to do for you with the mobile device?
(Please select all that apply)
Analytics Usage among Stores withWi-Fi
(Retailers and Hospitality)
Which of the following best describes
your average customer’s behavior since
you installedWi-Fi
Source: iGR survey of 400 U.S. small customer-facing businesses
Which of the following best d
your average customer’s beh
you installedWi-Fi
ConsumersWant Digitally Enabled Associates
Source: Forrester Research
Impacts of In-StoreWi-Fi
Check store inventory
(when shelf is empty)
Lock up product information
Look up and/or reserve
inventory at nearby store
Provide basic information
such as a return policy or
warranty information
Perform a checkout for me
Look up trend recommendations
and product reviews
Look up my past purchases and
make product recommendations
Know that I’ve entered the store
and greet me personally
72%
67%
57%
44%
41%
24%
20%
14%
Spend
same time
Spend
same
money
0.1%
Don’t
know
Spend
more time
32.6%
61.3%
45.9%
5
Traffic counting
Guest Wi-Fi session duration
56%
49%
• Wear it as a shoulder bag or waist pack
• Waterproof main pocket with roll top closure
• Fully welded seam construction
stormproof
Inside Outdoor | Spring 2016 43