Digital services improve shopping experience

Covid gave online shopping a boost. But now, customers are happy to come back to the physical shop. “People simply love shopping,” says Thierry Depré, M2M & IoT Partnership Program Manager at Proximus. “It’s about the whole experience, not just the shopping but also about having a coffee or a bite to eat with family or friends.” Data-driven applications help to improve customers’ shopping experience further.

Thierry Depré, M2M & IoT Partnership Program Manager at Proximus

Smart location analytics according to the tricks of the trade

Location data analysis is based on anonymized data taken from smartphones, cameras and sensors. “We record smartphone location data on our own network,” explains Thierry Depré. “Our network holds five million active SIM cards. Using that, we can deduce where people are and how they move around. We do this in accordance with the GDPR rules. All the data we use is anonymous.”

Proximus then adds external data sources, such as the demographic and economic characteristics of a region. Finally, various sensors – such as Wi-Fi antennas, visual sensors and motion sensors – also collect information about what is happening inside the actual shops. Data scientists consolidate those insights into a Smart Retail Dashboard.

Getting to know the customer better

“Among other things, the data analysis shows areas with a lot of movement,” says Thierry Depré. “That can be interesting when deciding on good locations for a new shop. If a shop is doing less well, data analysis can help understand the possible causes.” If a customer comes back to a shop, the system will recognize the smartphone. “That means that we can also identify customer loyalty and compare locations and shops more and more.”

One possible application is to align customer profiles and communication on social media optimally. “We equipped 150 dynamic video panels for JCDecaux, a company that manages billboards, with Wi-Fi sensors,” says Thierry Depré. “With that, we could measure how long a person looked at the ad and whether they actually visited the advertiser’s shop afterwards. That exercise allows the company to calculate the optimal exposure time of ads.”

During Covid, Decathlon used sensors that recorded the number of visitors at the entrance to better manage maximum capacity. “Decathlon is still using the sensors. Not only as a way of knowing how much time people spend in the shop, but also, for example, to know their profitability based on the average purchase amount.”

Björn Thys, Sales Manager IoT at Proximus SpearIT

Correct and dynamic pricing

Electronic shelf labeling is another digital application that improves the shopping experience. Combined with IoT sensors and cloud technology, digital shelf price labels enable many new applications. “Electronic price labels make price automation a piece of cake,” says Björn Thys, Sales Manager IoT at Proximus SpearIT. Rather than applying new paper price labels at the shelves, electronic labels can be controlled remotely. The adjustment is done centrally and all labels immediately state the correct price.

“That also makes working with dynamic pricing easy,” says Björn Thys. “A petrol station, for example, can charge different prices at night than during the day. The same for smooth synchronization between prices in the shop and those on the web shop.” Using electronic labels reduces the workload of employees, who would otherwise have to change all prices manually, and, because they no longer use paper labels, the shop also decreases waste markedly.

Faster to the right product

Some electronic labels can display more than just a price. Björn Thys: “The fast flash, a label with an LED light, allows very new applications.” The LEDs, for example, guide staff quicker to the products that need replenishing on the shelves, or support faster order picking for orders that customers come to collect afterwards.

That way, electronic labels can help customers too. “The customer scans a QR code when entering the shop and provides their shopping list on the app. The app then guides the customer to the desired product. The label of the product they are looking for lights up when the customer approaches. The app then also lets you pay right away, so no need to queue at the register.”

Pleasant shopping

“We are going for the fun shopping experience,” says Nicolas De Groote of drinks supermarket Bierhalle in Melle. “We want customers to have a pleasant time shopping and to do that, we provide the right information.” The company uses the app Beerhive to explain the different beers to customers and the electronic labels also make it easy to find each product easily. “When you get to the right rayon, the light on the label comes on.” Digitalization allows Bierhalle to collect data on sales which allows the company to make targeted adjustments to support its range.