How Much Money is Poor Cell Service Costing Your Store?
Location, merchandise and customer experience are all important factors for determining why your retail store might be losing business. However, there’s one question most retailers don’t ask that’s just as important: is lack of reliable cell phone signal in the store costing sales?
Cell phone signal is an increasingly critical part of the shopping experience. In fact, a 2015 study found that 90% of shoppers use their phones while shopping in stores. The same study found that 54% of shoppers use their phones to check prices, while 42% search for reviews. The data reflects an extension of the online shopping experience. Consumers are used to price checking the competition and reading extensive reviews from experts and other customers.
If cell phone service in your store is spotty, or nonexistent, you’re limiting the customer’s experience. It might be time to consider connectivity solutions that can help close more business and increase revenue.
Connect with your customers
With a commercial cell phone signal booster, or passive distributed antenna system (passive DAS), in your store you can help your customers connect to the content they crave. The systems work by capturing the existing cellular signal from a nearby tower and amplifying it throughout your store, all without significant infrastructure or installation requirements. Better still, the systems are compatible with all carriers, so customers on Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Sprint can always connect.
With a cell phone signal booster system installed in your store, shoppers easily connect to reviews and price information to verify their potential purchase. Without means to connect, those same customers might walk out the door to buy online or at a competitor.
Boost revenue by boosting signal
It might seem secondary but if you’re using a tablet or other digital point of sale, a strong cellular signal can help you close more sales and boost your revenue. Losing revenue due to point of sale failure is more common than you might think. Starbucks lost million of dollars in a single day in 2015 when a computer error prevented financial transactions.
While Starbucks can take a hit like that, most small retailers can’t. A slow or unresponsive system, and the delays that go with it, can cost you a sale and your reputation. Lack of a secure internet connection can hinder credit card validation and increase fraud rates. A cellular backup via a cell phone signal booster can both alleviate security concerns and reduce costs over only using a fixed line connection.
If you’re not seeing the financial returns you’d like from your retail business, it pays to take a big-picture look at your performance and tactics. A cell phone signal booster system can improve customer engagement and enhance point-of-sale.
Todd Fariss is the Director of Commercial Solutions for WilsonPro. His 23 years in the electronics industry has provided him with experience and expertise in the areas of logistics and applications engineering, cell signal access and wireless products. Connect with him on Twitter or LinkedIn.