WSJ.com CIO Journal

Overcoming the challenges of retail Wi-Fi

Only with a clear plan of the benefits that Wi-Fi can deliver, and with a well thought-out plan, can retailers launch Wi-Fi rollouts that make sense.

By Rasmus Wegener and Rudy Puryear

Published on January 28, 2013
min read


This article originally appeared in WSJ.com's CIO Journal (may require subscription). It sounds like a simple proposition for retailers: provide Wi-Fi for customers and employees to use with their smartphones and tablets inside their stores. Shoppers are coming to expect it: in a recent survey by SapientNitro and GfK Roper, 63% said free Wi-Fi would enhance their shopping experience. And even though some will use the service to compare prices online, more and more retail chains are offering Wi-Fi service to customers. In the 2012 holiday season JC Penney Inc Target Corp.and Saks Inc. joined the ranks of other chains that had offered Wi-Fi in previous years, including Macy’s Inc., Sam’s Club and Nordstrom Inc. Wi-Fi also offers opportunities to improve employee productivity and customer satisfaction–for example, by allowing a sales person to check the stockroom without leaving the floor, or even to complete a sales transaction in the aisles. How much would it cost to offer Wi-Fi? Explore costs and trade-offs with our Wi-Fi Cost Estimator. Our tool breaks down costs by hardware, labor and bandwidth based on your company's needs.VIEW There are more than 80 million unique Wi-Fi networks in the US. How difficult could it be to put a few into stores? Very difficult, it turns out. In fact, Bain & Company’s work with retailers finds that rolling out Wi-Fi to a network of stores is among the most capital intensive and complex projects IT departments will tackle this decade. That’s true in other industries as well, whether it’s a cruise line installing Wi-Fi in its ships or a large company rolling Wi-Fi out among a network of offices. Read the full article here (may require subscription). Rasmus Wegener is a partner in Bain & Company’s Atlanta office. Rudy Puryear leads Bain’s Global IT practice and is based in Chicago.

This article originally appeared in WSJ.com's CIO Journal (may require subscription).

It sounds like a simple proposition for retailers: provide Wi-Fi for customers and employees to use with their smartphones and tablets inside their stores.

Shoppers are coming to expect it: in a recent survey by SapientNitro and GfK Roper, 63% said free Wi-Fi would enhance their shopping experience. And even though some will use the service to compare prices online, more and more retail chains are offering Wi-Fi service to customers. In the 2012 holiday season JC Penney Inc Target Corp.and Saks Inc. joined the ranks of other chains that had offered Wi-Fi in previous years, including Macy’s Inc., Sam’s Club and Nordstrom Inc. Wi-Fi also offers opportunities to improve employee productivity and customer satisfaction–for example, by allowing a sales person to check the stockroom without leaving the floor, or even to complete a sales transaction in the aisles.

How much would it cost to offer Wi-Fi?

Explore costs and trade-offs with our Wi-Fi Cost Estimator. Our tool breaks down costs by hardware, labor and bandwidth based on your company's needs.VIEW

There are more than 80 million unique Wi-Fi networks in the US. How difficult could it be to put a few into stores?

Very difficult, it turns out. In fact, Bain & Company’s work with retailers finds that rolling out Wi-Fi to a network of stores is among the most capital intensive and complex projects IT departments will tackle this decade. That’s true in other industries as well, whether it’s a cruise line installing Wi-Fi in its ships or a large company rolling Wi-Fi out among a network of offices.

Read the full article here (may require subscription).

Rasmus Wegener is a partner in Bain & Company’s Atlanta office. Rudy Puryear leads Bain’s Global IT practice and is based in Chicago.