Skip to main content

Free wi-fi in store - one to watch

There is a well known rule of retailing that the longer you get people to spend in your shop the more they will buy. One of the reasons that supermarkets put fruit and vegetables up front is because it slows people down, ensuring that they reach the more profitable central aisles packed with processed foods in a better state of mind to browse and buy more.

Tesco's announcement that it was testing free wi-fi in store was being trumpted by its marketing machine as a way to help shoppers price compare using the phones. However, it might also help fill their shops with students and school children who cannot afford to surf the internet on their pay-as-you-go mobile phones.

As many local retailers know, there is a fine line to keeping shoppers in store longer so that they spend more and in having people killing time blocking your floor space. Magazine browsers in particular get a bad press.
However, it is still an area to watch. If it works, you may have to respond in kind.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Local advantage? Sainsbury's boss argues it is from his stores.

Online businesses don't pay local taxes, Sainsbury's boss Justin King argues in a big CityAM interview spread. Unlike the web retail businesses, Sainsbury's  "pay business rates at a local level" and "employ people locally" and "pay people locally" and "they spend their earnings locally". "If we are seeing a shift in consumer behaviour towards purchasing online rather than their local store then the government will have to address that the tax system is being usurped by a change in behaviour," he adds.  The point to notice here is that connection of Sainsbury's with "local shop". It is spin. But very effective spin. As any independent retailers who have talked to their MPs about competition from multiples will know, the grocers are very successful at projecting the "local" benefits that they will bring. Perhaps 10 years ago this was true. But supported by a better supply chain, independent...
Post a Comment
Read more

The launch of the 2009 IAA

We are launching the 2009 Independent Achievers Academy tomorrow in London with a group of retailers and suppliers. The marketing team have come up with a great practical exercise to help us relive the Academy experience. At its heart, the IAA has a simple concept: set a goal, plan to hit it and celebrate the outcome. I hope to learn lots from participants and will pass this learning on to you.
Post a Comment
Read more

What do shoppers see

I read a good post (http://www.newsagencyblog.com.au/2009/08/28/what-do-newsagents-charge-for-faxing.html) asking what price local shops charge for providing a fax service. The blogger had attached a photograph of his sign with his prices on it. What struck me was the message on the sign. "You drop, we fax," it said. "Pressed for time, drop your documents with us and we'll do it for you at no extra charge." That is a message that will persuade most shoppers that you want to give them good value, even if they stay to do the copying or faxing themselves.
Post a Comment
Read more