New technologies are consistently innovating in the retail industry. Each invention increases the quality of the shopping experience, allowing shoppers to navigate through stores and quickly find needed products. One of the most significant innovations is the implementation of active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology in retail wayfinding. This tool could shape the future of retail by changing the way consumers shop and reducing the confusion and frustration they might associate with large or unfamiliar stores.
CenTrak provides efficient Enterprise Location Services to support wayfinding solutions tailored to the retail industry. Our Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons work with BLE devices to communicate with shoppers’ smartphones and guide them around a store or shopping plaza.
What Is Retail Wayfinding?
RFID is nothing new. In fact, retail settings have used passive RFID tags for years as an effective inventory tracking solution. However, the implementation of active RFID and cost-effective BLE allows retailers to more easily integrate the benefits of RFID technology into the consumer experience by way of retail wayfinding.
Retail wayfinding solutions allow customers to navigate a retail facility efficiently and avoid getting lost while searching for stores or even specific products. Shoppers download a wayfinding app, which sends a map to their smartphones and allows them to track their exact location as they shop using BLE infrastructure.
Location-services technology has revolutionized driving revenue for retailers. With features like location-based marketing, customers can view promotions and advertisements based on their location within a given store, which encourages them to buy more products easily. Plus, a location-enabled wayfinding app can sense when customers make a purchase or leave the store or mall, which makes it simple for businesses to digitize receipts and post-sale surveys.
The Benefits of CenTrak’s Retail Wayfinding System
Real-time location tracking takes the stress out of shopping at a busy mall. Customers can use the virtual map on their smartphone to discern the fastest route to the store or section they want, learn more about products and find their parking location after their purchase using turn-by-turn directions.
CenTrak provides effective location services that deliver exceptional benefits to customers and retailers. Advantages of our retail wayfinding solutions include:
- Improved shopping experience
- Increased efficiency, allowing customers to purchase more products in less time
- Reduced confusion as customers navigate through large or unfamiliar facilities
- Increased customer confidence and brand loyalty
Retail Wayfinding Best Practices
Do you want to improve your guest experience? Here are some of the retail wayfinding best practices you can implement:
Integrate CenTrak’s retail wayfinding solutions, so shoppers can view their location data, product information and any activity that might impact navigation
- Incorporate a searchable directory into your mobile wayfinding solution so that customers can quickly find stores, restrooms, food courts, and other significant areas in crowded shopping centers
- Add translations in multiple languages to your wayfinding app, and use symbols on maps within the app that people can instinctively understand no matter their language.
- Indicate wheelchair-friendly routes, elevators and accessible parking spaces in your mobile wayfinding solution’s directories and maps
