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PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Personalisation Opportunities
in Retail Stores
Enhancing Customer
How to Boost StoreExperience (CX)
Sales and
through Conversion analytics
location-based
Rate through
Real-time Analytics
PlanetRetail RNG is a global intelligence and advisory business About Extreme Networks
exclusively focused on retail. For 13 years we have been tracking Extreme Networks has been a long-term trusted
over 2,000 leading retailers and built a proprietary and globally partner to leading global retailers, providing secure
comparable macro-economic data model with over 4.5 million data and scalable (wireless) networking solutions that
points. We do this to give our clients true competitive advantage in enable operational efficiency as well as a true omni-
understanding where to play and how to win. channel shopping experience.
extremenetworks.com
planetretailrng.com
Planet Retail and Retail Net Group are part of Ascential plc,
which transforms knowledge businesses to deliver exceptional
performance.
ascential.com
All images © PlanetRetail RNG.net unless otherwise stated.
Miya Knights
Technology Research Director
PlanetRetail RNG
miya.knights@planetretail.net
Researched and published by PlanetRetail RNG Limited
Company No: 3994702 (England & Wales)
Registered Office: c/o Ascential plc, The Prow, 1 Wilder Walk,
London W1B 5AP
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PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Contents
Foreword����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 1
1. Executive Summary����������������������������������������������������������������������������� 2
2. The Situation����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 3
3. The Solution ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 9
4. Recommendations..............................................................................16
PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics 4
PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Foreword from Extreme Networks
Digital technology is changing the way we live and certainly the way we shop. With the rise
of the internet, social media, and mobility, consumers now have access to a wealth of
information to guide them along their path to purchase. As more customers use their
smart devices while shopping, analytics technology will enable better understanding
of customers, their preferences, behaviours and desires to create contextual and
personalised in-store customer engagement.
As more customers
use their smart devices
while shopping,
analytics technology
will enable better
understanding.
Patrick Groot Nuelend
General Manager, Retail and
Transportation & Logistics Markets at
Extreme Networks.
Patrick Groot Nuelend is the General Manager of the Retail and Transportation & Logistics Markets at
Extreme Networks. Patrick has over 20 years of experience in the enterprise mobility industry with various
technical, sales and product management roles. He has extensive knowledge in Wireless LAN, security,
networking and mobile computing technologies.
1
PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
1. Executive Summary
Bricks and mortar (B&M) stores will continue to be a key retail sales channel. However, the physical store environment
has inherited a distinct legacy disadvantage compared to digital channels and pure online-only (or pure-play) retailers
when it comes to gathering and exploiting shopper data.
This whitepaper explores how technology enabling real-time awareness can allow retailers to act on shopper behaviour
in-store. This capability will be essential for maintaining store productivity and profitability, increasing customer
engagement and retention levels, and driving sales.
There is growing consensus that connecting with shoppers via their mobiles presents an effective marketing and
operational strategic advantage by unlocking an invaluable source of new and actionable store insights. Mature
wireless technologies that can provide location/flow analytics in real time are, therefore, becoming foundational
building blocks for the Store of the Future.
PlanetRetail RNG has identified four key characteristics of the Store of the Future:
• Creating a memorable experience that can’t be replicated online
• Positioning the store as a social hub
• Building a frictionless interaction with online-to-offline (O2O) integration
• Differentiating through product curation
To remain relevant in the future, stores need to cater to the changing shopping habits of today’s on-demand consumer,
whose expectations are mainly driven by the digitisation of experiences. B&M retailers must prioritise their efforts
around gaining actionable insights from these new consumers. They need to understand:
• Who their customers are
• Where they are instore, and how long they stay
• Why they are there (i.e. the reason for the visit) and at what point they are at in the sales funnel
• How to best engage with them, based on this context
Wireless communications are the gateway to digitisation of the store environment. A reliable and secure Wi-Fi
infrastructure is a pre-requisite. It encourages customer engagement and interaction beyond basic mobile data access.
Real-time Wi-Fi analytics empowers enterprises to take their business to a new level with deeper insights. It will help
retailers engage their customers with contextual-based personalised experiences and, at the same time, improve
operational efficiency.
Recommendations for retailers:
• Retailers should focus on store operations again
• Retailers should digitise the instore experience and better integrate it with online, where Wi-Fi is the principal
enabler
• B&M operations must gain a real-time view on shopper and associate behaviour on the shop floor using
location-based tracking
• Retailers should provide store associates a 360-degree view on historical customer data, product information
and inventory
2
PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
2. The Situation
Bricks and mortar stores are under pressure. With the
impact of the shift of consumer spending to online,
physical stores have experienced slowing growth rates. In
response, retailers are scaling back new store expansion,
closing stores or investing in smaller store formats.
Leading operations have begun reshaping existing
physical assets by reimagining the Store of the Future.
Weakening demand New set of
Growth of
for discretionary customer
ecommerce
purchases expectations
Channel/
Store of the Future
Store closures Operational
initiatives
diversification
Retail stores are facing competitive pressures brought on by the shift to online as well as social,
technological and economic factors.
With total global store-based chain retail sales predicted STEIP factors driving the change
to decline from 82% this year to 75% by 2022e, this
whitepaper explores the key requirements retailers must The Store of the Future is one of the Winning Strategies
satisfy for stores to remain relevant. It examines the role identified by PlanetRetail RNG using its STEIP framework,
digital and mobile technologies can play in B&M retail to which identifies and evaluates drivers of change from
boost shopper engagement and retention. Society, Technology, Economy, Industry and Policy that
impact retail and its future developments. From this set
There is growing consensus that connecting with of assumptions, we analyse implications on decisions
shoppers via their mobiles presents an effective for retailers and brands and define Winning Strategies
marketing and operational strategic advantage by in which to invest. They include Shopper Engagement &
unlocking an invaluable source of new and actionable Retention, Ecommerce & Digital Ecosystems, and Supply
store insights. Mature wireless technologies that can Chain & Seamless Fulfilment, alongside Store of the Future.
provide real-time location/flow analytics are becoming
foundational building blocks for the Store of the Future. The table of STEIP drivers (below) outlines just some of
the macroeconomic and societal changes that underpin
the reasons why retailers should invest in the Store of
the Future.
• The shift away from large stores is being driven by smaller household sizes and urbanisation
SOCIETY • Shoppers increasingly value experiences
• Expectations of on-demand consumers cannot always be met by stores alone
• Digital access is accelerating: more than 1.1 billion new internet users will come online by 2021
TECHNOLOGY • Proliferation of mobile digital devices and the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT)
• Pervasive computing, the Cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) enable real-time and predictive analytics
• Pressure on middle class triggers heightened price sensitivity
ECONOMY • Emerging and developing markets will provide long-term consumer growth
• Ecommerce will be the fastest-growing channel, expected to account for 25% of global retail channel sales by 2022
INDUSTRY • Increasing pressure on labour levels and wages
• Data security regulations increase
POLICY • Protectionist regulations to safeguard jobs in the face of rising automation could add increased overheads to store
operations
3PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
What is clear is that the range of factors driving the
need to reinvent stores is only going to increase. Long-
standing socio-demographic factors will persist, while the
pace of technological change will continue to accelerate.
A tipping point will be reached in certain areas over the
next decade (such as ecommerce reaching 25% of all
modern chain retail sales by 2022e), meaning the radical
reinvention of physical stores – both in form and function
– becomes necessary to survive.
Share of Internet Users per 100 People by Development Stage (%)
100 91.1
86.9
76.7 79.0
80
67.3
61.4
60 52.2
46.4
40
25.3
20
0
Developing Emerging Developed
2012 2017 2021e
Developing regions are experiencing rapid growth in internet penetration, which will fuel the continued rise of ecommerce sales
The store is not dead – but needs
reinvention to remain relevant
This by no means implies that stores are doomed. Even
though some consumers will choose to partially shop
online and opt for automated replenishment of daily
necessities, many will still visit stores. There may be
fewer, smaller outlets, but they will remain the most
important consumer touchpoints, where people can see
and feel products, receive inspiration and expert advice,
and also pick up and/or pay for goods ordered online.
While more than 50% of retail sales are being influenced
by online, 90% of consumer purchases are still finalised in
stores
Source: Deloitte “The New Digital Divide”
4PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
The role of the store should evolve away from being solely transaction-based. To differentiate, the store will increasingly
become a physical portal into brands and product experiences – a place where consumers can be inspired, learn, co-
work, socialise and experiment with new products.
PlanetRetail RNG has identified four key characteristics of the Store of the Future:
• Creating a memorable experience that can’t be replicated online
• Positioning the store as a social hub
• Building a frictionless interaction with online to offline (O2O) integration
• Differentiating through product curation
Store of the Future
Events Community role
Inspiration Social and meeting hub
Shop-in-shops Restaurants
Education
Customer service and
experience Experiential Social
Frictionless Curated
Click & collect Product curation
Digital engagement Exclusives
Fulfilled by store Focus on fresh
Checkout-less stores “Made in Store”
Differentiated characteristics of the store of the future will be facilitated by technology
The enduring importance of the store is confirmed by
the O2O trend. While many established store-based
retailers are tackling slowing sales and a surfeit of shop September – January –
August – 20% Stake in Yum! Acquires
floor space, digital players are recognising the critical stake and China through department March – First
May – Acquires
18% stake in
importance of gaining a physical presence. Stores help partnership with
Suning.
investment firm. store operator Fresh Pickup Lianhua.
Intime. location opens
support an omni-channel proposition by providing
economies of scale and service in a physical environment
that showcases the brand.
Therefore, leading pure-play operators like Amazon and
Alibaba are now establishing physical stores to promote 2015 2016 2017
their brands and products, as well as acting as collection
and fulfilment points. Attempts by both Alibaba and
Amazon to grow their physical footprint are accelerating. November – First
Amazon’s June 2017 acquisition of Whole Foods Market, Amazon Books
store opens.
with 480 stores, is the highest-profile example to date. January – First November –
June – Acquisition
physical store 32% stake in
We can expect further consolidation in this space. opens in Tianjin. warehouse club February –
of Whole Foods
Market.
operator Partnership with
Though the expansion of digital players’ physical Sanjiang. Bailian.
capabilities confirms the importance of the store, it will
also further fuel online growth. This, in turn, will continue
to ramp up the competitive pressure on store-based
retail operations.
Amazon and Alibaba have made a series of major investments in physical retail over the past two
years, with Alibaba and Auchan China most recently forming a billion-dollar alliance through Sun
Art Retail Group
5PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Leading retailers are still reliant on stores, not just for The traditional physical store, with its fixed location, finite
the bulk of their revenue, but for the majority of profits product range and limited ability to offer personalisation
as well. Despite the burden of outlet and staffing costs, is restricted in its ability to meet these needs. To stay
store-based retailers still generate higher margins ahead in the game and cater for the requirements of
than pure-play retailers. This is due to the significant the digitally-empowered consumer, B&M retail must
fulfilment costs associated with online operations. It overcome disadvantages around flexibility, convenience
also explains the need for online-only operators to and operational costs. More importantly, stores must
establish a transactional physical presence, as well one catch up with online to gain similar transparency and
for fulfilment. real-time analytical visibility.
Demands Hyper-
Asset-Light
Convenience & Personalization
Lifestyles
Flexibility Expectations
On-Demand Consumer
Seamless & Demands
Frictionless Experiential
Experience Environments
Immediacy Accountability
Consumer
Critical – Instant Transparency &
Empowerment
Gratification Traceability
Today’s on-demand consumers have a new set of expectations
On the other hand, with online sales increasing as a B&M retailers must prioritise their efforts in gaining
proportion of leading retailers’ revenues, pressure on actionable insights from the new consumer type. They
profitability is growing. Shareholder returns are also need to understand:
being squeezed as investment is ramped up to enhance
digital capabilities and to refurbish stores. Walmart, for • Who their customers are
example, warned in 2016 that profits would be impacted • Where they are instore , and how long they stay
by investment in higher wages and a USD2 billion
investment in ecommerce over 2016-18. • Why they are there, i.e. the reason for the visit, and
at what point they’re at in the sales funnel
Stores must invest to keep pace with • How to best engage with them, based on this
online context
To remain relevant in the future, stores need to cater
to the changing shopping habits of today’s on-demand
consumer, whose expectations are mainly driven by the
digitisation of experiences. They enjoy constant access to
the internet via an increasing variety of mobile devices.
Today’s shopping journey typically involves multiple
touchpoints, both on- and offline. Such unprecedented
access to information, combined with the need for
instant gratification and personalisation, characterises
the new type of consumer.
6PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Earlier this year, PlanetRetail RNG published results from a survey among more than 350 C-level executives from all
retail sectors across four leading retail markets. The study confirmed the “who, where, why and how” of customer
visibility. In-store interaction was top of mind for retailers. Improving customer experiences in-store ranked highest on
the list of strategic priorities.
Current Strategic Priorities Within The Next 12 Months
Improving customer experiences in-store 44%
Improving customer experiences online 35%
Digital customer engagement 28%
Physical and/or digital (online) channel expansion 20%
Supply chain improvements 19%
None of the above 18%
Private Label development 16%
360-degree, centralised customer view 10%
International expansion 7%
Joint Venture/Franchise investment 5%
Source: PlanetRetail RNG contracted survey – base 359 C+ retail executives across markets UK, US, Japan and Germany
What it means for store operations The industry faces labour pressures, both from costs and
skills perspectives. So making efficient use of personnel,
The Store of the Future requires significant strategic as well as matching labour levels to demand, is becoming
investment in technology to provide optimised customer increasingly essential. To address these challenges, an
experiences and operational efficiencies. Digital and effective digital and mobile store strategy is essential.
mobile systems apps can enable retailers to gain a
360-degree view on stock, sales, staff and shoppers
instore – an advantage that pure online players and
shoppers have had for some time now. Investing in an effective digital/mobile
Consumers are digitally empowered and able to access strategy to improve the customer
information on products, price and promotions online experience is essential
and via their mobile devices. However, B&M stores
typically lack the means to engage with shoppers digitally
in real time when they are on the shop floor. 2.51%
In addition, today’s digital culture and fast-paced lifestyles 8.08%
are leading to shorter attention spans. The time retailers
have to reach shoppers is decreasing. Consumers want
instant gratification and expect retailers to respond
quickly to their shopping preferences and behaviour as
do best-in-class online operators. 30.08%
Online players enjoy the advantage of being able to
gather considerably more detailed information on
visitors’ shopping behaviour compared to conventional 28.13%
physical stores. They can identify recurring shoppers via
cookies, for example. Clickstream analysis provides them
with valuable insights on shopping preferences as well
as on what drives shoppers to complete a transaction or
31.20%
abandon it. They can also immediately react to a shopper’s
activities by offering support or recommendations, using
chatbots, for example. This communication can be highly
personalised, as many customers opt to log into the
online shop before browsing as they value the bespoke
recommendations and services they can obtain from
Strongly disagree Slightly disagree
doing so.
Neither agree nor disagree Slightly agree
Most B&M retailers know little about shoppers passing by Strongly agree
or entering their stores, let alone are able to identify and
More than 60% of C-level executives agree that an effective
track them as they browse the aisles. From an operational
digital/mobile strategy is essential to improve the customer
perspective, stores need to be more productive and experience.
efficient in catering to heightened shopper expectations,
while managing the impact of new digital services like Source: PlanetRetail RNG contracted survey – base 359 C+ retail executives across
click & collect. markets UK, US, Japan and Germany
7PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Ecommerce Share of Chain Retail by Region (%)
50%
40%
Share of Chain Retail (%)
30%
20%
10%
0%
Africa & Middle East Asia & Oceania Central & Eastern Europe Latin America North America Western Europe
2012 2017 2022e
Source: PlanetRetail RNG
B&M retailers are facing major challenges compared to online
Without investment in digital and mobile, the gap between online and offline will
persist. These enabling technologies can connect a retailer’s online and offline
presence and provide transparency on inventory and shopper behaviour. Bear in
mind that:
• Physical retailing often lacks visibility of in-store shopper behaviour of the
kind available to online retailers through tools like clickstream analytics.
• Typically, shoppers browsing a physical store remain anonymous – at least
until they initiate the checkout process using a payment method other than
cash and/or a loyalty card. A personalised, real-time marketing approach at the
place where the shopping decision is made – during that shopper’s “moment
of intent” – is often impossible.
• Many operations lack transparency and real-time information as to what
exactly is happening in their stores. This is true regarding shopper behaviour,
activities and the whereabouts of staff, as well as other store assets, such as
inventory and fixtures and fittings.
• This results in an inability to take timely proactive or remedial action to
address a situation on the shop floor.
• In many cases, physical and digital channels are not integrated. This makes it
difficult to track the customer journey beyond each visit to the store.
• B&M often lacks immediate actionable insights and instead can only access
such information after the event.
8PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
3. The Solution
We have seen how the ability to track and communicate Mobile Influence on Instore Sales
with consumers is the cornerstone of an effective digital
1.6
and mobile strategy. 1.4
1.4
Digital and mobile technologies offer retailers the means to:
37%
1.2
Know the customer
1.0
1.0
USD trillion
• Recognise shoppers passing by or entering the store
– who they are 28%
0.8
0.6
• Recognise shoppers’ whereabouts inside the store – 0.6
where they are 19%
0.4
• Engage with shoppers related to their location on 0.2
0.2
the shop floor – why they are here 5%
0.0
• Enable contextual marketing – how to engage?
2013 2014 2015 2016
Optimise operations A growing share of instore sales is being influenced by mobile usage, accounting for 37% in 2016,
according to Deloitte study “The New Digital Divide”
• React to events on the shop floor based on analytics
• Alert employees to important customers entering
the store or to important tasks in a timely manner
To date, less explored are the numerous opportunities
• Provide visibility on available staff as well as store that can be generated by offering shoppers mobile
assets access to in-store Wi-Fi networks.
Analyse customer (and staff) behaviour to monitor results
and optimise the store offering, services and experience. Welcoming visitors to the store and
• Learn from traffic flows and patterns to optimise
knowing who the shoppers are
store layout, product placement, and staffing Nearly all consumers carry a mobile with them when
they leave home. And a clear majority wish to use their
Wireless communications are fundamental to digitising smartphones while shopping in stores. A study from
the store environment. A reliable and secure Wi-Fi mobile loyalty company SessionM found that 90% of
infrastructure is a pre-requisite. It encourages customer shoppers used their smartphones while shopping.
engagement and interaction beyond basic mobile data Connecting via mobile must be seen as the best way to
access. It allows the retailer to recognise and engage with engage with modern shoppers. This can be achieved
their shoppers in more contextually relevant ways. using smart network solutions and real-time Wi-Fi and
It also enables in-store staff to gather and access BLE-based location analytics delivered with minimal
information without being tied to a terminal and to CapEx investment via the Cloud.
spend more time facing the customer. It also gives store Providing in-store Wi-Fi is evolving from a value-added
assistants access to required information when serving extra to a pre-requisite, not only to meet customer
shoppers. Leading retailers have invested heavily in the expectations, but also to provide innovative new forms
technology and it must be seen as table stakes for any of digital engagement, along with much-needed visibility
modern B&M store. on customer activity within the store.
Ways in which US shoppers plan to use their smartphone while holiday shopping in 2017
Show/browse online 67%
Check/compare prices 65%
Track order status 63%
Get store locations 60%
Make a purchase 59%
Read product reviews 57%
Get product information, pricing and specifications 56%
Check product availability in a store or website 54%
Find and use discounts, coupons, sales information 48%
Access social networks 36%
Get text messages or exclusive deals from retailers 35%
Scan product barcodes to find more product information 30%
Send / redeem gift cards 28%
Accumulate loyalty points 27%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Source: Deloitte – US, September 2017, 5,085 respondents 18 years or older
9PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Opening Wi-Fi access to shoppers will provide retailers Knowing where the shopper is
insights on:
Customers logged into the store’s Wi-Fi network can
• How many customers enter the store be tracked from entry to exiting the store. It can even
track people beyond the store for proximity traffic. This
• How often they visit
is possible as each different device can be identified
• What type of goods and services they are interested in through its unique ID. This will enable retailers to
understand
These metrics can be measured using advanced guest
• Customer activity at department level or a specific
and location analytics features available on best-in-class
store area
enterprise network systems.
Retailers can also take advantage of social networking • Which departments or store areas are most popular
behaviour to increase patronage, expand brand
• Where associates spend most of their time serving
exposure and understand customer demographics and
customers
preferences in a more comprehensive and personal way.
Savvy shoppers will look up product reviews, price-shop These detailed insights on customer movements in-store
and search for store coupons and incentives. will also offer information on dwell times and provide
But free Wi-Fi alone does not in itself drive opportunities heat maps in real time. To facilitate this a floor plan is
for increased shopper engagement or provide retailers required. Location accuracy of an instore Wi-Fi network
with the insights that would allow them to tailor services depends on the number and placement of access points,
for that specific demographic. They should also consider typically ranging from five to seven metres. More accurate
providing mobile-friendly, customisable splash pages as tracking can be achieved by adding so-called ‘beacons’ to
well as an easy single sign-in via email, social media, SMS a network. These use BLE technology to detect and locate
or loyalty credentials. shopper devices. The low cost and ease of set-up makes
Wi-Fi location-based services an attractive proposition.
Gaining actionable insights on the who,
where and why
Comprehensive real-time and historical location analytics
can provide retailers with the business intelligence
that can help enterprises understand how each site or
department is performing.
Site Analytics
• Overall footfall (visits) in the store – hourly, today,
yesterday, last week
• Capture rate – outside vs inside visits
• Bounced vs engaged visits
• Trends on loyalty - repeat vs new visits
• Peak and off-peak hours
• Top- and bottom-performing sites
Zone analytics
• How many visits in each zone - hourly, today,
yesterday, last week
• Total engagement time of visitors in each zone -
hourly, today, yesterday, last week.
• Unique visitors in each zone
A large crafts store chain is retargeting its in-store Wi-Fi users with ads served online. The craft
• Top five zones by visits
supply and fabric retailer recently enabled Wi-Fi in all its 850 stores across the US.
• Bottom five zones by visits
• Device density heat maps
• Top five zones by engagement time
• Bottom five zones by engagement time
• Engagement heat maps
10PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
How do secondary How long do shoppers How do shoppers
placements compare stay in my stores? navigate the store?
with primary Which routes do they
merchandising take?
spots?
Where are my
How frequently do operational
my shoppers hot spots and
return? dead ends?
Where and for
how long are my Which window displays
customers Am I staffing each have the highest
showrooming? department effectively? conversion rates?
Wi-Fi analytics help B&M retailers in answering vital questions to better manage their stores
The power of contextual customer
engagement
Location-based services, using Wi-Fi and/or BLE
technologies not only provide retailers with valuable
insights, they open up contextual marketing
opportunities similar to those online retailers enjoy.
Understanding shopper behaviour, knowing which aisle
they are browsing or which product category interests
them, enables retailers to push
• Promotions or special discounts
• Information on new product launches
• Coupons, and/or
• Marketing messages according to location
to their mobile device. Fully understanding customer
behaviour in the store and being able to act on it in real
time gives retailers abundant marketing opportunities.
The use of in-store Wi-Fi and digital technology provides
both retailers and brands chances to generate impulse A pharmacy chain is leveraging in-store mobile use to send coupons to shopper phones.
buys through targeted promotions.
11PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Offering multimedia digital content Personalisation
in-store and/or via a mobile device Combining both information about the location and
about the individual customer makes a real-time
contextual marketing approach even more powerful.
Recurring shoppers identified through the system can
receive highly personalised offerings, relating both
to their present location and personal preferences
accumulated from previous store visits as well as from
15.32% 10.58%
shopping behaviours across other channels.
Helping shoppers navigate the store
20.06%
For shoppers it is often a challenge locating specific items
in large–format stores. Retailers can help customers
28.69% logged into the store Wi-Fi navigate the aisles and find
the zone where the item they are looking for is stocked.
Guided by a store map, they will be able to see their
25.35% current position and the product’s location is placed. The
system then displays the fastest route between the two.
Connecting shoppers and associates
A location-grade network can effectively help customers
connect with a human interface as well. Using the
shopper’s positional information to identify the nearest
Don't know Not at all impactful Little impact associate will result in quicker response times in helping
Slightly impactful Highly impactful
customers. Very much the human equivalent of an online
Nearly 70% believe that digital/mobile content instore will have
chatbot.
an impact on sales Some indoor locationing platforms like ExtremeLocation
provide visibility on crowding – highlighting zones where
the visitor-to-associate ratio is too high, as well as sending
Engaging customers with additional real-time crowding alerts to workforce management
digital product information, marketing applications instructing them to deploy associates.
and promotional initiatives
Optimising efficiency of store associates
Having oversight of and analysing whereabouts of
store staff tells retailers how much time is spent in
each department. It also delivers insights on the ratio
of associates to shoppers in a particular area. This
10.58% information helps operations to more accurately plan
18.94%
personnel deployment and better optimise workforce
14.76% management. At times of rising staff costs and increasing
difficulties sourcing capable employees in some markets
this will significantly enhance operational efficiencies and
profitability at store-level.
33.98% 21.73%
Don't know Not at all impactful Little impact
Slightly impactful Highly impactful
More than 55% see an impact from digital product information
marketing and promotional initiatives.
12PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Enhancing customer personalisation Increasing labour costs are creating
and understanding through collection of greater operating pressures
shopper data/attributes
6.41%
6.41%
7.80%
10.58% 7.80%
19.50% 19.50%
19.50%
12.53%
33.15%
31.75% 25.63% 33.15% 33.15%
33.15%
Strongly disagree Slightly disagree
Neither
Stronglyagree nor disagree
disagree Slightly
Slightlyagree
disagree
Don't know Not at all impactful Little impact Strongly
Slightly impactful Highly impactful Neither agree
agree nor disagree Slightly agree
Strongly agree
More than half of C-level executives surveyed see an impact More than 50% are challenged by increasing labour costs.
from personalised customer engagement based on data.
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Location Data
Position
Presence Zoning
tracking
Detects the presence of Detects and locates shoppers Uses RF-fingerprinting or BLE Customer
shoppers in the store in different departments beacons to provide exact
Location location of shoppers
Data
Inventory
Data
• Know when guest • Know guest locations by • Know exact location of
enters/exits the store zone guest in the store
• Welcome guest and/or • How long they dwell in • Product or aisle-level
send coupons each zone guest engagement
• Top and bottom • Line busting Product Data
performing zones
• Customer journeys
Associate help Historic &
Shopper •
real-time
data
Enabling Contextual Shopper Engagement
• Welcome guests Analytics/
• Coupons, promotions and special discounts
• Associate help
Predictive
• Store map Analytics
Three phases of contextual shopper engagement – For phases one and two, a Wi-Fi-based solution is considered the best and most cost-efficient choice. Phase three
integrates BLE for higher accuracy.
13PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
Enterprise level/Management tools
An efficient and high-performance WLAN infrastructure
across a retailer’s B&M estate requires effective
management tools at enterprise level. Often, thousands
of individual sites and several hundred thousand access
points need to be managed. Simple deployment will
enable faster roll-outs and allow enterprises to set up
new sites quickly.
A Cloud-based locationing architecture will ensure
scalability of the system, where millions of visitor devices
are observed across all stores. It ensures that costs are
tailored to the user’s requirements and they are paying
only for the resources they need, when they need it.
It also provides management with a single view and
transparency across the network, offering meaningful,
customisable dashboards that can be installed easily and
swiftly.
The convenience of Application Programming Interfaces
(APIs) facilitates fast and easy integration with other
enterprise solutions, enabling retailers to add follow-on
benefits in the future.
Technology/Architecture
Extreme Networks Contextual Guest Engagement
ExtremeGuest
Providing powerful guest demographic
analytics to create the personalised guest
engagement Guest
Analytics
ExtremeLocation
Uses Wi-Fi and BLE to deliver
granular location of guests and
associates to connect associates
BLE Beacons with guests quicker, or offer guest
Fine resolution engagement departmental-specific offers
Contexual
Location
BLE Guest
Analytics
Engagement *
Wi-Fi/ *Contextual Guest Engagement
ExtremeWireless WiNG & BLE BLE Guest Engagement Engine takes into ac-
In-store wireless technology to connect with count all the real-time analytics and ex-
guests with integrated BLE ecutes personalised engagement policies
and campaigns
Source: Extreme Networks
14PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
The Benefits
Case study: Leading US supermarket
Real-time Wi-Fi analytics empowers enterprises to take
their business to a new level with deeper insights. It
operation
will help retailers to engage their customers with a One of the largest US supermarket chains, serving
contextual-based personalised experience and, at the more than 8 million customers per day, had been
same time, improve operational efficiency. looking to leverage technology to improve customer
experience, reduce wait times and improve coupon
• Engage with customers through contextual-based
processing.
personalised experience
By offering guest Wi-Fi, customers can use their
• Monitor workflow and assets to improve efficiency smartphones instore, which makes their shopping
experience more pleasant and efficient. At the same
• Knowing where staff and resources are; connecting
time, the retailer can use guest and location analytics
with customers that need assistance faster and
to gain insights into customer demographics,
utilising staff more efficiently
footfall, dwell times and traffic patterns. The data
• Understanding traffic patterns and workflow; helps to improve store operations and also enables
resulting in improved operational efficiency or the retailer to engage with shoppers in a more
customer experience personalised and contextual way.
Results and ROI were impressive. The costs to
• Leveraging wireless LAN for greater return on
implement a new store network infrastructure,
investment
including Wi-Fi access points, ethernet switches,
• Increased sales software licenses and cabling saw a payback within
a period of 14 months.
• Increased conversion rates
Net financial return, achieved over a period of three
• Enhanced shopping experience years, was around USD90 million. Moreover, due to
the improved customer experience, shoppers were
• Engaged employees more likely to return to the stores and become loyal
customers.
• Better and more personalised customer services
• Improved planning
• Increased loyalty Source: Extreme Networks
15PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
4. Recommendations for retailers
`` Retailers should focus on store operations Implementation plan:
again
It is recommended to take a phased approach.
`` Retailers should digitise the instore
experience and better integrate it with • Phase 1:
online, where Wi-Fi is the principal enabler
`` Start with basic analytics through “Presence” and
`` B&M operations must gain a real-time view “Guest Wi-Fi”.
on shopper and associate behaviour on the
shop floor using location-based tracking • Phase 2:
`` Retailers should provide store associates `` Gain more detailed insights and intensify
with a 360-degree view on historical customer customer engagement though Zoning.
data, product information and inventory
• Phase 3:
`` Stores must engage with the shopper based
on location and personal preferences `` Get more exact location information and engage
with shoppers at product or aisle-level.
`` The system can further be expanded by integrating
real-time location data with 3P systems like CRM
(customer relationship management) or POS
(point-of-sale) data through APIs.
Source: Extreme Networks
Wi-Fi Analytics help to improve store operations
and enables retailers to engage with the shopper in a
personalised and contextual way.
16PlanetRetail RNG | in partnership with Extreme Networks
Personalisation Opportunities in Retail Stores – Enhancing CX through location-based analytics
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