Friction Free WiFi Required to Help Shoppers

Friction in free in-store WiFi could seriously hurt sales, a recent study has claimed.

14:10 04 June 2018

Many shops are now offering free in-store Wi-Fi service to attract more customers. However, a recent study claims that failure to deliver a friction-free service could result in poor customer experience and can lead to lost of sales opportunities.

 

The survey, which was participated by over 1,000 shoppers, revealed that 35per cent of customers are more likely to make a purchase and a further 37per cent would buy more in a single shopping trip if they are offered free WiFi service. Similarly, over half (52%) of UK consumers agreed that free Wifi would make them spend longer in a shop.

 

However, 43per cent of customers say they are wary to use in-store WiFi due to privacy and security concerns while 44per cent said they avoid using the service all together because they feel that they are forced to provide more personal information than needed. Meanwhile 77per cent said that they won’t log on to store networks if they feel that the sign-up process is too long or complex.

 

Paul Leybourne, Head of Sales at Vodat International, commented: “Putting in place the network power and Wifi connectivity to reach customers digitally when they’re visiting stores will set up retailers for all the future developments around mCommerce and multichannel marketing. While connected customers can enjoy a more streamlined, engaging purchase journey, the retailer is heading in the right direction towards a conversion too.”