Introduction
The installation of free guest WiFi at the Nisa store in central Cardiff has resulted in increased footfall and sales. Purple WiFi are the providers and our partner, ITSourced, configured, installed and managed the delivery of the solution at the stores.
David Morris, Head of IT at Nisa Retail Ltd, said: “The system is providing us with essential demographic information about consumers visiting these sites. The intention is to use this data to gain competitive advantage, drive consumer promotional activity and record the impact against sales. We plan to roll out the solution to a large site over the coming weeks then offer it to all our retail estate over the coming months.”
We caught up with store owner Ravi, one month after the solution was implemented to ask him how things were going.
What technology has been used?
Nisa and IT Sourced chose Cisco technology for the Nisa installation, using four Aeronet access points and a WLAN controller to deliver a cloud-based solution that’s reliable and secure. Nisa was the first customer to take advantage of Purple WiFi’s Cisco Mobility Services Engine (MSE) hosted in the Purple WiFi cloud, which makes enterprise level technology accessible to organisations of all sizes. Choosing Cisco MSE also means that Nisa will benefit from presence analytics, floorplans and heat mapping.
Why did you choose Purple WiFi as your provider?
One of the biggest factors that influenced our decision to provide free WiFi was listening to our customers needs. They repeatedly asked for free WiFi in the shop and we were having to constantly direct people to McDonalds, the nearest venue offering free WiFi, which is a five minute walk away. Another reason that WiFi had become a necessity is our very central location in the centre of Cardiff, just in front of Cardiff Castle and not far from Cardiff University. Since installing Purple WiFi we are finding an increase in visits from students, tourists passing by and business people on their lunch breaks.
What are the main benefits to you as a business?
The main benefit of providing Purple WiFi is bringing more customers into the shop and encouraging them to spend more time there. As a result, sales of coffee, snacks and other products have increased. Using features such as real-time customer analytics and heat mapping also means that in future we will be able to see where people go in the store and adjust product displays according to this information. Currently we are already seeing corners of the shop where nobody goes and we never realised this before!
What about Facebook logins?
Installing social WiFi has highlighted the need for the Cardiff store to have a Facebook page of its own. Currently Nisa has a Facebook page which covers all stores across the UK and is managed by our Head Office, who have noticed an increase in likes since the WiFi in Cardiff was installed. We’re going to start our own page as we already have ideas about ways we will be able to engage our regulars!
How do your regulars currently benefit from Purple WiFi?
Having free WiFi means that our visitors can stop, sit down and relax whilst they are in store. Business people can catch up on emails during their lunch break, tourists can browse information about the city and students can update their social media accounts. It seems so obvious now we’ve done it.
What feedback have you had since putting the solution in?
The feedback we’ve had has been surprising – our regular customers in particular say that the main reason they visit is because of the WiFi. The till takings and sales are growing, which is definitely due to both the WiFi service and the new refit.
We feel that the provision of free guest WiFi is definitely something to shout about and we are promoting the service on our leaflet campaigns and on the six LED screens in store.
What about return on your investment?
I think it’s clear – more opportunities to engage customers means better customer service, happier customers and more customers! It’s still early days yet, but we plan to really make the most of this tool. One thing is clear already – installing the Purple WiFi solution has significantly increased the time and money people spend in store.