By Paul Millette, Carousel Industries
For over two decades I was a road warrior — a sales rep living out of my car with an innate skill of finding the cheapest places to refuel and grab food on the go. And, like any successful warrior, I also knew every single coffee shop, store and restaurant on my route that offered free WiFi. Because having immediate access to Internet at our favorite shops isn’t a nice-to-have anymore; it’s a must-have.
A few years ago, we saw the retail game change forever when behemoths like McDonald’s and Starbucks decided to offer free wireless to their patrons.
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When Starbucks announced its decision to offer WiFi in June of 2010, then Chief Information Officer Stephen Gillett said: “We expect this to be a very versatile tool for people who are using Starbucks for what we call the third place, between home and work.” Seven years ago, the average Starbucks WiFi user would stay for one hour to enjoy the free browsing. Today, depending on the city, you can be hard-pressed to find a free seat at a high-traffic Starbucks as coffee-lovers spend hour after hour working remotely while sipping their favorite drink.
But it seems major retailers were on to something years ago when they decided to invest in WiFi. Recently, the IHL Group completed research on the “Impact of Store Networks and WiFi on Customer Experience,” and found that stores that offer strong wireless enjoy more customer sales, specifically a 17.3% increase in EBITA. That’s a considerable amount of money being left on the table for retailers not investing in WiFi.
The research also found that:
- 28% of retailers stated that offering customers WiFi has had a positive impact on customer loyalty; they’ve reported a 2% sales increase thanks to the service.
- 48% of retailers reported that granting employees access to WiFi boosts shopper loyalty, resulting in a 3.4% increase in sales.
Today’s retailers — be it restaurants, coffee shops, hotels or stores — cannot afford to not offer shoppers free WiFi as it’s become a consumer expectation. Think about your own behaviors for a moment.
- How often do you prefer sitting in a coffee shop that allows you to comfortably answer work emails, versus one that forces you to use your own data?
- How often do you log on to your gym’s WiFi network so you can stream music seamlessly? Would you even belong to a gym that didn’t offer free WiFi?
- Would you stay at a hotel that didn’t offer free WiFi?
With the benefits of offering in-store wireless being well documented, it’s surprising then to learn that only 40% of retailers have an up-to-date WiFi infrastructure in place. In other words, while retailers are increasingly investing in wireless technology, they do not have the right backend support to ensure that it’s secure, fast and reliable.
To maximize the potential of your in-store wireless, you need to invest in your network and understand your WiFi needs. There are several components that go into creating a sound wireless experience, from making sure your router and modem are optimized for the kind of usage your shop will experience, to encrypting your network so you don’t share the same connection as your patrons.
In addition, you must consider how to address the Millennial expectation of today’s shoppers, in that they want to be able to get to the POS, access their customer loyalty information immediately and can leverage any technology they want inside a store. To do that, today’s retailers must ensure they have enough network capacity, security, adequate coverage of equipment and the visibility and manageability to maximize the experience.
In closing, here’s a question you will need to consider as you look to drive more sales in the coming year…is your in-store WiFi set up in a way that will drive unprecedented levels of profitability in the year to come?
Paul Millette serves as director of the executive sales development program and retail industry lead for Carousel Industries. In these roles, he oversees ownership of sales planning, performance metrics, forecasting, and reporting for the team. He has more than three decades of sales leadership experience and has spent the last 10 years expanding the Carousel sales development program to include strategic industry focus spanning retail, financial, healthcare, insurance, government and education, among others.
