The (R)Evolution of Telecom Retail Store: A Step into the Future

Because of this reason alone, the telecom retail industry should focus on real-time data and daily trends. Learning your customers' behavior and needs helps you act upon the learnings quickly and employ adequate measures.

It is time to walk the walk

Accenture found that 25% of customers use the store as a means of evaluating products, 60% use it to ask for advice. Put simply, if your retail store serves as the decision-driving element and the customer orders online, it is still a win. It is an example of an omnichannel approach. It applies to other findings:

• When switching channels, three out of four customers expect to pick up where they left off—not having to re-enter information or re-inform a customer service representative of their issue.
• 70% of customers who start in a retail store convert close in a different channel, getting the physical/digital mix right is essential.

Customers of today expect the top-notch, tailor-made experience to convince them to leave their homes and venture into the store. This process needs to be guided from the very first moment your customer uses any of your contact points. To achieve this, here are three actions to consider:

Furthermore, an omnichannel approach is not just about the experience within your store but about the process as a whole - outside of your store boundaries included. Deliveries outside matter as much so do not keep your customers waiting. More than 90% of customers view 2-3 days deliveries as the baseline, and 30% expect the same-day delivery.

Personalization

When preparing all the different touchpoints (digital screens, kiosks, tablets or app downloads) for your customers, make them a part of the dialogue. Transforming the in-store experience should evoke emotion and make it relatable for your everyday consumer. How can this be done?

Physical stores will never be as fast and convenient as their online counterparts. However, one can learn from the other and vice versa. The physical store should introduce comfort and a more streamlined experience for the customer while the presence of actual employees at the store reinforces the decision-making process with a personal touch.

83 percent of customers say they want their shopping experience to be personalized in some way, and research by McKinsey suggests that effective personalization can increase store revenues by 20 to 30 percent.

Keep contextual and location data in your sights as well. Prompting the customer to self-identify during the visit should be done as openly as possible - asking for an email address or a phone number, with a tangible benefit in return. These benefits can range from personalized offers and discounts to free service for convenience such as free phone charging on the spot and more.

It’s also a good practice to have special promotions at the ready, exclusively for your store’s visitors to further incentivize their effort. This will enable you to target specific audiences with relevant messages and offers whenever they take a step inside your retail store.

Nourish your customer’s loyalty by avoiding generic, default information and build personalized promotional materials and recommendations that will make their journey feel special.

Studies show customer loyalty should be at the forefront of priorities and special upsell and rewards programs can contribute to increased consumer spending.

Digitalization

With COVID-19 looming in the distance, the game strongly favors the online landscape. To even the odds, telecom retail stores must embrace digital technology, rather than compete with it.

The importance of digitalization in the telecom retail stores of the future is twofold. For one, digital touchpoints enable the customers to continue where they left off. Second, interacting with digital screens, kiosks, tablets, and downloading apps are not only great ways to stay in touch and keep the flow uninterrupted but also means of gathering vital information on your customer's likings and shopping behavior.

Removing friction in the decision-making process - digitalization can also help reduce queueing up in stores. Online appointment scheduling for store visits has been adopted by a large number of telecom providers already and we have been hard at work to provide the same service to our partners as well.

Workforce optimization provides your employees with opportunities for a better work-life balance with apps that will generate monthly work schedules based on prediction from traffic, sales, and employee-specific data. The staff can earn a premium by taking up a hard-to-fill shift or proactively reacting to a busy period within the company. This will ultimately contribute to more satisfied personnel and eventually, better customer service.

How do you see the future of telecom retail shopping?

For starters, we recommend starting small, introducing incremental changes to ease your customers into the new world of telecom retail stores. Focus on real-time data, use it to prepare strategies that will woo more customers towards your brand, and build strong bonds with an omnichannel approach.

The Telecom retail industry is changing. Take your customers along for the ride and show them you care by personalizing their journey and making it more convenient by embracing new digital technologies.