The Network Now Plays a Key Role in Retail Sales and Marketing
As the cost-of-living crisis continues to influence us all, decreased consumer spending and confidence continue to impact on retail revenues. This puts a sharper focus on profitability, operational efficiency, and new ways of enriching the customer journey. For retailers today, the ability to empower customers while making every experience exceptional is key to increasing spending, loyalty, and market share.
Most retailers today operate on a multi-channel basis, giving customers the flexibility to choose their preferred shopping method. However, achieving streamlined and fully connected experiences remains the exception rather than the norm. Operational barriers between brick-and-mortar and online channels often lead to disconnects, causing customer disappointment and frustration. Yet customers no longer differentiate between online and in-store experiences but expect seamless experiences across your retail brand.
So, how can you effectively close these gaps while keeping costs in check? The answer lies in the retail network, which is often seen as an operational cost. By deploying indoor location services, you can leverage the power of in-store and in-centre networks to deliver exceptional customer experiences and turn your retail network into a revenue source.
For example, Juniper indoor location services can add value for retailers on multiple levels:
- Enriching the customer journey to create seamless, stand-out customer experiences.
- Influencing consumer behaviour to drive revenue and traffic, while collecting valuable data.
- Connecting in-app and in-store shopping experiences.
- Growing your retail media channel and associated revenue streams.
Enriching the Customer Journey at Every Step
Indoor location services have something to offer throughout the entire customer journey, from arrival to departure. Whether it’s through a customer’s smartphone via in-app features or through hand-held self-scan devices in grocery stores, these services enhance the overall experience.
Wayfinding: Shoppers can use their device to:
- Find the item they’re looking for with turn-by-turn navigation
- Provide the best route based on their shopping list
- Access safety announcements and their nearest emergency exit location
Personalization: Deliver relevant, personalised ads and offers based on the customer’s location, as well as reminders of any in-store coupons that are available.
Product information: Provide anything from measurements to FAQs to help customers with decision-making while they’re looking at an item.
Staff deployment: Send staff members with specialist knowledge to help a customer looking at high-value items, such as TVs.
Virtual queueing: In Germany, Outletcity Metzingen uses Juniper indoor location services to hold a customer’s place in the queue while they carry on shopping or go for a coffee until it is their turn to be served.
Influencing Consumer Behaviour While Collecting Valuable Data
From greeting store visitors as they arrive to thanking shoppers as they leave, you can create contextual push notifications anywhere using virtual beacons. At the same time, you can collect valuable data to inform future strategy:
- Engage customers based on profile: make recommendations for things like accessory or related items for previous purchases to customers as they browse the shelves as they travel down store aisles.
- Promote products and offers on the spot: use dynamic pricing or highlight special offers, based on a customer’s location.
- Influence store/centre traffic: incentivise people to visit certain locations, such as new departments or stores.
- Test different ways of merchandising: monitor dwell time or measure the traffic to a new display, feature or planogram.
- Collect data: track and understand the use of self-scanning units; monitor and measure people flow; use analytics to understand the effectiveness of layouts, promotions, dynamic pricing, retail media, and more.
Connect Your In-App and In-Store Shopping Experiences
As Juniper indoor location services are built into the network, you can integrate them with store and shopping centre apps for proactive customer service. For example, many consumers are already going online or using apps to visualise furniture in their homes, and to virtually try on eyewear, makeup and – increasingly – fashion. By using your network’s indoor location services, you can use in-app messaging to take customers to look at the items in the real world…
“Would you like me to take you to [name] sofa you looked at yesterday?”
Or or notify them of new colours and sizes…
“These jeans are now back in stock in your size! Would you like to see them?”
Similarly, when you offer a click-and-collect service, your network can recognise when a customer arrives in-store, enabling you to message them with directions to the pickup point, or let them know when their order will be ready.
Growing Your Retail Media Channel
Retail media’s global advertising revenue is forecast to exceed television revenue by 2028, accounting for 15.4% of total advertising revenue (Forbes, October 2023).
Activating the retail media channel enables you to influence shopping behaviour through brand advertising while generating income. Adding indoor location services can make your efforts even more effective. As a customer moves through the store, you can serve them relevant in-app and digital display ads to highlight preferred brand offerings. What’s more, you can use the data to demonstrate the value of your approach to advertising brands.
No Batteries, No Beacons: It’s All Built into the Network
Juniper Networks’ indoor location services are unique. Our network access points (APs) each contain 16 low-power virtual Bluetooth® Low Energy (vBLE) antennae for accurate location, and quick and easy mapping of the surrounding environment.
You can set up your virtual beacons at any location, and reposition them easily when you need to, such as when a display or promotional tasting stand is relocated to another area in-store.
Unlike old-style physical proximity beacons, they won’t get moved out of (or removed altogether) by customers and staff, and there’s no need to constantly replace batteries in hundreds or thousands of units.
Juniper Networks is the only vendor recognised as a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrants™ for both Indoor Location Services, Global and Enterprise Wired & Wireless LAN Infrastructure.
Want to learn more? Join Juniper expert Philip Keely to see a demonstration of how our location services work, how they can boost your retail business and much more! Register here.
Learn more about how Juniper helps retailers to improve operations and enhance the customer journey through experience-first networking.
Retail customer success stories
Every Modern Retail Enterprise Needs the Juniper Network, driven by Mist AI (PDF)
Juniper Indoor Location Services
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Indoor Location Services, Tim Zimmerman, Annette Zimmermann, February 21, 2023.
Gartner Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Wired and Wireless LAN Infrastructure, Mike Toussaint, Christian Canales, Tim Zimmerman, December 21, 2022.
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