New Roles for Retail Wi-Fi

Getting the mobile strategy right can make a big difference for retailers, said Alison Paul, leader of Deloitte's retail and distribution practice. 

When consumers use mobile devices in physical stores, there is a 72 percent chance they will turn their browsing into actual purchases, a 14 percent increase above those who don't use mobile devices, Paul said. Wi-Fi therefore plays a new role in converting interest into purchases. 

Up to this point,Wi-Fi has been an amenity for retailers in verticals such as food and  beverage, the perhaps-classic case being Starbucks. Now Wi-Fi is being viewed by a wider range of retailers who have to  balance a legitimate fear of encouraging "showrooming" with the possible upside of tailoring their in-store Wi-Fi networks to encourage purchases while users are inside the stores.

That might include any number of ways to try and influence consumers while they are shopping, from showing past buying history, delivering coupons or information about specials, for example. 

The business model also is different. Rather than an indirect amenity designed to increase customer dwell time, and therefore sales, the new approach attempts to directly influence shopping behavior. 


According to an analysis by researchers at Deloitte, mobile (defined as smart phones
for this analysis) influences 5.1 percent of all retail store sales in the United States. That implies 
about $159 billion in sales for 2012.

Mobile influence is anticipated to grow exponentially to 17 to 21 percent of total retail sales, amounting to $628 to $752 billion in mobile-influenced store sales by 2016.