Boston Retail Partners has provided retailers with insight to help them determine what technology would best fit their store.
Boston Retail Partners (BRP) have released a new study to help retailers navigate the plethora of new location-based services (LBS) that have been created for retail applications over the last few years. Selecting the right technology for retail applications can be an overwhelming task, and Cracking the Code – Deciphering Retail Location-Based Services Technology, the white paper from BRP will provide retailers with crucial insight.
Why are Location-Based Services Important?
Location-based services are critical to identifying customers as they enter the store, which creates the best opportunity for retailers to personalize the customer’s shopping experience through clienteling and guided selling. In Boston Retail Partners’ 2015 CRM/Unified Commerce Benchmark Survey, 53% of retailers reported plans to have the ability to identify customers when they walk in the store via their smartphones within five years. That’s an 883% increase over the 6% who indicated they could already identify their customer in this way. Understanding the different technologies and how to best utilize them in conjunction with the customers’ smartphone is critical for the future store.
Deciphering the Key Technologies
With the growing interest in LBS technology comes a complicated path for selecting the optimal system. Coupled with the ever-increasing capabilities of LBS, even the savviest ‘techies’ have been left wrestling with the challenges of deciphering this complex technology. This white paper provides an overview of the nuances of the various LBS options and the pros and cons of the respective retail applications. The primary location-based technologies assessed in the white paper include: GPS, Wi-Fi, RFID, NFC and Bluetooth.
“Location-based services are on the to-do list for many retailers to enable a more personalized shopping experience, but the myriad of technology options make the decision process complex,” said Ken Morris, principal, Boston Retail Partners. “We hope this white paper helps retailers narrow down the choices and guide them to the best solution to align with their short- and long-term goals and enhance the customer experience.”
