Almost every time you check the news you hear about another store closing or going bankrupt. Within the first quarter of 2017 alone, there were 2,880 retails stores closed. Everyone, everywhere is saying brick and mortar is on the decline and struggling against the online world. Even so, it is reported that 55% of online shoppers prefer to buy from a merchant with a physical store presence over an online-only retailer.
So what can be done to change this potentially ominous fate for retail? Some stores are already doing it: in-store analytics and marketing through guest wifi.
3 ways stores can bridge the gap between online and in-person retail:
1. Understand shopper behavior
The online world is able to learn a lot about a consumer through digital “cookies” that collect their data and from information that the customer submits about themselves at the time of checkout. This kind of information is not as easily accessible when a consumer enters the building of a store – or is it? With the right guest wifi technology and the best analytics tools, such as SmartWifi, a retailer is able to capture rich data about a consumer to help them better understand a customer the same way they might track and offer customized offers online.
2. Timely offers in real-time
Imagine being able to understand why a consumer made a purchase or why a consumer decided not to purchase what they had in their cart. Online, if a person puts an item in their cart and does not purchase the item by the time they leave the site, they may be offered a discount that would encourage them to return to the website and drive them to make a purchase. Now technology can suggest the physical shopper the same kind of offer using “real-time” marketing through your guest wifi system.
3. Understand changes in the store
The online world may struggle with “bounce rates” and identifying why the website layout may (or may not) encourage a customer to successfully navigate a site from shopping to purchase. With web analytics, it is fully possible for an online retailer to measure and analyze customer behavior, and using online analytics to study what keeps the customer engaged, what design attracts the right customer, and why customers “bounce” or leave a site. Brick and mortar retailers, though, have struggled in the past to collect similar data, but now are presented with the opportunity to collect just as rich of data as the online world. With the right technology, retailers can get the insights to discover customer behavior and present a customer experience that dramatically improves the shopper’s in-store experience and repeat purchases.
Keep in mind that none of these things would be possible without the right technology. SmartWifi is able to meet all these needs to help keep your shop stay afloat during this tough time for retail. We are all about positioning you for the buyer of tomorrow.
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