EE offers heat-maps, in-store WiFi and tablets to help shops compete with online retailers

UK mobile operator EE is offering a service called Connected Retail to shops in the UK in a bid to help them compete with online rivals and cut down on queueing time in-store.

According to research that the company carried out this month on 2,000 UK consumers, British retailers stand to lose around £1.04 billion a year because of long queues at the check-out – 73 percent of shoppers say they will abandon their purchase if they have to queue for more than five minutes, 29 percent of which will only wait two minutes in a queue before abandoning their purchase.

To combat this drop-off, EE is offering retailers the option of its Connected Retail package – a combination of heat-mapping technology so stores can anticipate queues before they form, in-store WiFi (to keep customers and staff connected) and tablets for store staff so they can do things like check stock levels from the shop floor.  The service also provides the store with the ability to send customers already in the shop personalized offers and promotions via their smartphones.

Pricing for the service is likely to vary depending on the extent of the retailer’s operations, but we’ve asked EE for more details and will let you know if we find out more.

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