A new cloud-based analytics solution for retailers has been launched to bridge the gap between the availability of shopper engagement intelligence for e-commerce retailers and the current lack of insight information for ‘bricks and mortar’ stores in the UK.
Dorset-based digital marketing and software agency Bespoke 4 Business has launched the new Retail-One insights package, powered by CloudCoded Solutions, to enable store owners and managers to detect, connect and engage with customers. Whether shoppers make a purchase or not, using Retail-One, stores can now maximise sales opportunities and customer satisfaction by turning the analytical insights into action.
“From our discussions with bricks and mortar retailers, we are finding that the emphasis is no longer on building revenue through new store openings but through maximising revenue within each store by using space more efficiently and intelligently. Online retailers have been able to understand their customers’ behaviour for years and now retail stores can level the playing field” explains Anthony Tilley, Director at Bespoke 4 Business.
The technology works by positioning a small sensor in store, which detects customers carrying Wi-Fi enabled devices such as tablets or smart phones. These devices actively and regularly send out signals announcing their presence to potential Wi-Fi networks, which the Retail-One sensor detects to know roughly where the broadcasting device is located. This then acts as a measuring tool to not only count their presence but can also identify other metrics including if they are a new or returning customer and how long they stay or ‘dwell’ in the store. The data is totally anonymous and identifies only the device, not the owner.
Store owners and managers can study the data collected by the in-store sensor by logging into a cloud-based, interactive and simple to use dashboard, which provides statistical data on customer count, dwell time, frequency of visits, time since last visit and can also show cross-store comparison.
The RetailOne system, which is subscription-based with plans starting from just £15 per month, is proving extremely popular with marketing teams keen to monitor the performance of their marketing and promotional activity.
“Not only can RetailOne help retailers improve their customer experience, it can also provide valuable information for marketing teams to evaluate the performance of their marketing activities so they know which are generating the best ROI, for example, has a recent radio advert, billboard campaign or social media promotion led to increased footfall as a result?” explains Anthony.
As well as being of interest from a marketing viewpoint, business owners are benefitting from the data insights to aid high-level strategic decisions about the future of their business. Poor performing stores can easily be identified so improvements can be made before it’s too late.
RetailOne has also proven to help optimise staffing levels by alerting store owners and managers to busy and quiet periods.
“Customers can get easily irritated when there isn’t enough staff to serve them. If they exit the store, this can amount to a large sum of lost potential revenue. Having insight into busy times enables retailers to match predictions of how many people will be in the store at any given time, based on past data, and suitably employ enough staff to be available to serve their customers. This makes smart business sense. People can easily shop online but many choose to shop in stores for the customer experience”.
For stores using RetailOne, there is also the added bonus of being able to offer their customers marketing leading Wi-Fi free of charge.
For more information, please call 01202 684400 or visit www.retail-one.co.uk.
