Shoppers Stop adopts Cisco’s tech to boost customer experience

Research shows omni channel consumers generally spend two to four times more money than single-channel consumers, and typically keep their spending to a handful of key retailers. The ground reality is that retailers are not clear on what to offer (and why) and its impact on the overall economics of their stores. Technology comes to its rescue. For example, Shoppers Stop is deploying modern technology to accelerate its digital business transformation and redefine customer experience. It is testing sound-based contactless payments at its stores; this technology will use sound-waves from mobile phones to enable customers to make cardless, cashless and contactless payments at all 84 Shopper Stop stores across the country.

Most recently, Shoppers Stop collaborated with US tech major Cisco Systems to implement Cisco Wireless Solution across 80 Shoppers Stop stores. In select stores, Shoppers Stop is piloting another new-age technology, the Cisco Connected Mobile Experience (CMX) capabilities integrated with Cisco Wireless Solution for enhanced personalised experiences for shoppers. At a macro-level, the agreement with Cisco is aimed to accelerate the digitisation of Shoppers Stop stores in line with its omni-channel strategy through which the company aims to achieve 20 per cent digitally-influenced sales by 2020. A recent report by Cisco says that the number of public Wi-Fi hotspots will grow 112-fold to 5.4 million by 2021 in India. With Cisco’s expertise, Shoppers Stop has deployed guest Wi-Fi for more personalisation and digital services to help its customers discover the best shopping possibilities within its stores. Cisco’s CMX solution is designed to help Shoppers Stop better serve its customers by analysing individual customer experience, behaviour and engagement. Dinesh Malkani, president, Cisco India and SAARC says that retail is one of the top three industries most vulnerable to digital disruption. In retail, insight is currency and these insights help retailers provide a hyper-relevant customer experience and remain competitive in the digital age.

How it works

A quick glance at Shoppers Stop’s digital transformation and the role that Cisco technologies will play… Cisco Connected Mobile Experience (CMX) integrated with Cisco Wireless Solution can be delivered either on premises or from the cloud, and will allow Shoppers Stop to deepen customer loyalty and boost sales through location-based services, targeted advertisements and advanced analytics. Registered devices are automatically recognised at all Shoppers Stop stores, further encouraging Wi-Fi usage with the convenience of not having to log in again.

Cisco’s enterprise-class secured wireless platform will bring the power of Cisco’s Wi-Fi infrastructure and intelligent network capabilities allowing Shoppers Stop to drive insights and actionable analytics to enhance the customer shopping experience and improve business operations with better operational control and seamless, secure Wi-Fi onboarding. Among others, Cisco Video Collaboration solutions including Cisco SX10 and SX20 HD video endpoints deployed at Shoppers Stop will make it easier for Shopper Stop employees to connect, collaborate and make faster decisions and quicker resolutions with colleagues and partners from any location. It is not just about connecting existing systems—rather, it is a transformational way of looking at how you do business, says a Cisco official. To succeed, IT and the business must work together to enable the customer experience and brand promises for the organisation as a whole, he informs.