Retail businesses make an enormous economic and social contribution to the UK economy. The 452,060 retail firms employ 3.6 million people, generating £517 billion in sales. However, recently, retailers have faced a combined challenge of global trade wars, higher tax bills, disrupted supply chains and cyberattacks.
To combat these challenges, retailers are increasingly turning to new technologies like AI and IoT to improve the customer experience and resiliency. However, this rapid adoption is putting significant pressure on often outdated connectivity infrastructure, which in turn restricts the potential benefits of this advanced technology. In fact, according to Ericsson’s latest report, Sector in Focus: Connecting Retail, broadband is the biggest barrier when it comes to creating a more consistent customer experience.
As retailers look to technology to enhance customer experience, improve operational resilience, and gain deeper insights into their operations, there is only one clear solution which can support their ambitions: cellular connectivity.
Greater operational resilience
Resilience is everything in an unpredictable landscape. According to a report by Oxford Economics, outages cost businesses over $400bn in revenue each year. Even a brief connectivity issue can have a significant impact on the entire business, whether it’s a payment system or a stock management platform being down. In these situations, a wireless WAN can act as a backup network, so if the main wired network is damaged, stores can still maintain seamless operations and exceptional customer experiences.
Furthermore, enhanced connectivity strengthens visibility and resiliency across the whole supply chain, even in remote areas or industrial settings like warehouses, which can be hard to connect with traditional fibre cables. For example, real-time inventory tracking through IoT devices can give retailers more insight into stock levels, when specific items are in demand, and which stores are in most need of restocking. Similarly, dynamic pricing enables them to reduce waste products by offering deals on items nearing the end of their shelf life. However, both require high bandwidth and low latency to be of use, which is what retailers can get with a Wireless WAN network. This type of adaptability is critical at a time when there is an uncertain economic future, and customer expectations are at their highest.
Ability to adopt new technology
Retailers are increasingly turning to technologies like AI chatbots (49%) and dynamic pricing tools (39%) to meet rising consumer expectations for more personalised experiences, especially amid ongoing labour shortages. However, this technology puts much strain on connectivity infrastructure, demanding high-bandwidth and low-latency. Without robust connectivity in place, even the newest technology will struggle to function effectively.
Scaling up fibre cables to meet this demand can be difficult and time-consuming, with it often taking 9-18 working days to install a new one. This is why 70% of retailers believe that fixed broadband is a blocker to creating a standardised service across all their stores. Unfortunately, this directly affects retailers’ bottom line, with 38% reporting a loss of revenue due to poor connectivity. In contrast, cellular solutions can provide connectivity from day one and can be scaled up and down when required without significant disruption.
Future-proofing retail operations
The first step in future-proofing retail operations is to lay a strong foundation, which in today’s world means reliable and robust connectivity. Sadly, 48% of retailers cite networking and IT as their biggest frustration when launching new technology-based services in stores.
This frustration will only grow as AI adoption accelerates across the industry. Retailers are now managing whole ecosystems driven by data, automation and real-time insights rather than just a few connected devices. The demand for connectivity infrastructure is increasing. Retailers that invest now in robust, scalable connectivity will be better positioned to adopt emerging technologies and remain competitive in a fast-moving market. Whether it’s self-checkouts, digital kiosks or in-store inventory management powered by AI – without connectivity, these digital technologies risk failing, frustrating stakeholders and customers alike.
A benefit of these solutions is that they do not add more workload to already stretched IT teams. By investing in cloud-based management tools, IT teams can remotely troubleshoot problems, push out software updates, and manage data demands without having to leave the office. This cuts down on wasted travel time and potential downtime. It also helps increase the security of the network, protecting retailers from the risk of disrupting cyber-attacks.
Connectivity is an essential utility
Good connectivity is no longer optional – it is an essential modern utility to ensure success, especially as retailers continue to embrace AI and IoT technologies. As consumer expectations continue to soar, cellular connectivity provides the key to unlocking the next generation of shopping.
