[{"_id":"project-settings","settings":{"translateMetaTags":true,"translateAriaLabels":true,"translateTitle":true,"showWidget":true,"customWidget":{"theme":"dark","font":"rgb(255, 255, 255)","header":"rgb(0, 0, 0)","background":"rgba(0, 0, 0,0.8)","position":"right","positionVertical":"bottom","border":"","borderRequired":false,"widgetCompact":true},"widgetLanguages":[{"code":"es-LA","name":"Español (América Latina)"},{"code":"fr-CA","name":"Français (Canada)"}],"activeLanguages":{"fr-CA":"Français (Canada)","es-LA":"Español (América Latina)","de":"Deutsch","en":"English"},"enabledLanguages":["de","en","es-LA","fr-CA"],"debugInfo":false,"displayBranding":true,"displayBrandingName":true,"localizeImages":false,"localizeImagesLimit":false,"localizeAudio":false,"localizeAudioLimit":false,"disabledPages":[],"regexPhrases":[],"blockedClasses":false,"blockedIds":false,"phraseDetection":true,"customDomainSettings":[],"seoSetting":[],"translateSource":false,"overage":false,"detectPhraseFromAllLanguage":false,"googleAnalytics":false,"mixpanel":false,"heap":false},"version":394},{"_id":"en","source":"en","pluralFn":"return n != 1 ? 1 : 0;","pluralForm":2,"dictionary":{},"version":394},{"_id":"outdated","outdated":{"#Versuchen Sie nicht, gleichzeitig ein Anbieter von Einzelhandelstechnologie zu sein. Indem Sie sich fr eine Lsung mit einer vollst￤ndigen Integrationsplattform von einem zukunftsorientierten und innovativen Partner entscheiden, knnen Sie Ihre Technologie zukunftssicher machen. Vermeiden Sie unntige Software-Updates und passen Sie sich schnell an, um mit iQmetrix langfristigen Erfolg sicherzustellen.":1,"#Mitarbeiter mssen zahlreiche Tarifpl￤ne, Werbeaktionen und anbieterspezifische Aktivierungen fr Kundenangebote kennen und auf dem Laufenden bleiben. Dies fhrt zu hohen Schulungskosten und einem hohen Fehlerrisiko. Darber hinaus mssen Sie die Provisionen mit jedem Anbieter abstimmen, um sicherzustellen, dass Sie kein Geld verschenken.":1,"#Sie mssen Ihren Fokus nicht auf andere lenken, wenn wir bereits ber das Wissen verfgen, das Ihr Unternehmen bentigt. Nutzen Sie die Branchenexpertise von iQmetrix, die sich auf die Lsung der komplexen Abl￤ufe im drahtlosen Einzelhandel spezialisiert hat und gleichzeitig Sicherheit und Compliance gew￤hrleistet, damit Sie beruhigt sein knnen.":1,"#in den USA 2,8 Millionen Einheiten erreichen werden":1,"#The Overview | Your monthly newsletter on everything telecom retail":1,"#网页内存占用1":1,"#page memory usage":1,"#M":1,"#Qu’est-ce qui fait une expérience client exceptionnelle dans le commerce de détail sans fil ?":1,"#rapport McKinsey de novembre 2021":1,"#Vancouver, BC — April 18, 2024 — iQmetrix, North America’s only provider of Interconnected Commerce solutions designed for telecom retail, is thrilled to announce its new partnership with Drextel Communications to bring its wireless-specific solutions to Drextel’s Canadian wireless retail channel.":1,"#iQmetrix | Hardware":1,"#USA":1,"#Select Your Region":1,"#Hardware":1,"#How to Enter the Retail’s Got Talent Contest":1,"#But it’s during the Monday Night Reception when things get really exciting. That’s when you and the other finalists will showcase your talents in front of your peers — live! Winner of Retail’s Got Talent will receive $1,500, runner up $500, and all finalists $150. Video auditions that were not finalists but were chosen to be shown during Retail’s Got Talent will receive $50.":1,"#Perhaps you’re a magician. Or you have a voice of an angel. Or maybe, just maybe, you’re a master ventriloquist. Whatever your talent is… if it wows the Retail’s Got Talent judges and you’re selected as a finalist, you could win a trip to the beautiful Fairmont Scottsdale Princess in Scottsdale, Arizona! When you’re not soaking in the lap of luxury, you’ll be an active participant in the iQmetrix Meetup where you can network with wireless retail executives and industry leaders.":1,"#the Retail’s Got Talent contest for a chance to win a trip to the iQmetrix Meetup in Scottsdale, Arizona. Not only will you mix and mingle as an attendee, you’ll also get to perform your talent live at the Statflo Monday Night Reception with the other finalists.":1,"#If you have a special talent and you’re ready to show the world what you’ve got, enter":1,"#by Statflo on Sep. 5, 2018 in Events ":1,"#Retail's Got Talent: Do You Have What it Takes to Be a Meetup Star?":1,"#Want to win a trip to the 2018 iQmetrix Meetup? Show us what you've got and we can make it happen!":1,"#iQmetrix | Retail's Got Talent: Do You Have What it Takes to Be a…":1,"#5 Reasons You Can’t Miss the 2022 Telecom Industry Address":1,"#What to Expect from the 2022 Big 5G Event in Austin, Texas":1,"#5 Reasons You Can’t Miss the 2022 Telecom Industry Address":1,"#All Wireless and Prepaid Expo 2023: The Buzz on Three Trends in the Prepaid Space":1,"#Finalists will be selected on October 1st so time is ticking. Don’t waste another minute — film your talent and enter today!":1,"#Lastly, submit the video of you performing your talent":1,"#Next, go here to tell us about yourself":1,"#First up, film yourself performing your talent":1,"#Entering the Retail’s Got Talent contest is super easy. Here’s what you need to do:":1,"#We know wireless is an in-person industry with activations, repairs, troubleshooting, and upgrades being just a few of the services needed by wireless customers. Curb-side pickup, drop ship fulfillment, and buy-online, pick-up in-store models are just a few processes that reduce the consumer’s need to spend a lot of time in your store, while still satisfying their wireless ask.":1,"#Not sure where to start? That’s okay! First things first, keep “contactless” at the forefront of every idea; how can you get a product from your backroom to a consumer’s hands with as little physical touch as possible?":1,"#Even with safe and effective methods of going about their day, customers may still be feeling the pressures that come with COVID. This is an opportunity for your business to recognize these feelings and transition operations towards something that eases the stress and reintroduces your business as a part of their life.":1,"#There’s no beating around the bush — a pandemic is scary. While the world has started to come to terms with the “new normal,” there was a time that uncertainty felt overwhelming as everyone tried to learn the to-dos and to-don’ts for staying safe.":1,"#Creating confident customers":1,"#In a socially distanced world, retailers must be cognizant of the hesitation even their most loyal customers will have to return to the physical store. Providing contactless methods of shopping opens the door to safer purchase practices and answers the call of the behavioral shifts happening today, tomorrow, and into the future. Purchase patterns are evolving faster and more drastically than they ever have before, and organizations that want to stay in the game should act accordingly.":1,"#The world of contactless retail":1,"#In a socially distanced world, retailers must be cognizant of the hesitation even their most loyal customers will have to return to the physical store.":1,"#iQmetrix | Rethinking Your Customer Experience Strategy":1,"#Watch the Webinar":1,"#Want to learn more about the state of wireless retail and what your store can do to compete and win against COVID-19? Watch this expert-led webinar that dives into the complexities of 2020 and what it all means for telecom.":1,"#But now that time-in-store has been removed from the equation, how can wireless retail businesses create the experiences that put them a step above their competition? As society moves from face-to-face retailing to face-to-screen, business owners are tasked with responding to consumer needs while remodeling the traditional retail experience.":1,"#All of these demands require a robust and integration-ready retail management platform with a team of experts who can assist your associates and management employees with technological on-boarding. Your software should bear the brunt when it comes to rolling out these new processes so you can focus on safe and profitable wireless retail.":1,"#The successful execution of “contactless” retail is dependent on the foundation on which it will stand. Prioritizing e-commerce means there is a need for sophisticated order and inventory management and fulfillment systems to not oversell or overstock. Appointment scheduling would be a valuable tool for protecting the safety of everyone, should customers need to come into the store (think about the activation process). And we can’t forget about the acronyms: BOPIS, ROPIS, and ISPU all require changes to the buying process.":1,"#The rapid changes in retail overall have caused wireless retailers to already adapt their daily operations. But with today’s landscape showing little sign of returning to the normal we knew, investing in alternative retail tactics will prove successful in the long-term.":1,"#Putting it all together":1,"#Online connections not only fill the space where physical retail once was, it also acts as a bridge to connect the interpersonal gap between businesses and their customers so that when in-store retail makes its triumphant return, shoppers know exactly where they’re stopping first.":1,"#Social media pages and chat functions can act as your online meeting place, where customers come to buy, browse, ask questions of your team — like they would in-store, only digitally. Facilitating this community helps to circumvent the worry that customers are shopping less or (worse) shopping elsewhere.":1,"#While omnichannel initiatives are optimal for effectively managing inventory to “establish a seamless connection capable of meeting customers’ stock demands in a more ideal manner,” the customer experience can also become a point of digital connection. This report states that engaging in social media helps to lock onto consumer demands at key moments.":1,"#In a recent study, Deloitte found that businesses that accelerate the development and implementation of their digital retail offerings are those who will be the least impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. And the study wasn’t just alluding to making sure you have an online store.":1,"#It’s not just about NFC (touchless) payments anymore. Instead, contactless retail refers to the entire retail process a customer goes through on their path to purchase.":1,"#Touch-free touchpoints":1,"#For wireless retail customers, experience is everything. Whether they are activating a device, renewing their contract, or finding the accessory of their dreams, each shopping trip for wireless consumers was an extended one.":1,"#by Stephanie Boyle on Jun. 11, 2020 in COVID-19 Customer Experience ":1,"#Retailers must be willing to invest heavily on innovations, which can be costly. For example, the first cashierless Amazon Go location brought in 50 percent more revenue on average than the traditional convenience stores, but needed more than $1 million investment in hardware alone. As Morgan Stanley estimates, Amazon would need to spend $3 billion to open 3,000 stores. Investments are needed to make disruptive technology happen, but it is unlikely that customers will see the same savings they did in the first Amazon Go store, since so much money is needed to make these 3,000 stores happen.":1,"#Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze?":1,"#It all sounds very slick, and there are many benefits to retailers and shoppers alike. For instance, eliminating friction at checkout Amazon Go stores earn 50% more revenue than an average convenience store, and according to their estimates, the average Go store makes an estimated $1.5 million a year.":1,"#Sobeys is far from the first major retailer to launch automation technology in retail. Amazon Go has been investing in Deep Learning, Computer Vision, and IoT technology in an effort to replace the traditional checkout-with-a-cashier experience. It’s much different from self-checkout stations. Shoppers log into their Amazon Go app, walk into the store, pick up what they want, and just walk out. No lines, no checkout counters, and no registers.":1,"#In October, Sobeys Canada introduced 10 Smart Carts to its Glen Abbey location in Oakville, Ontario, designed to reduce time spent at the checkout line. The Canadian grocery chain partnered with American company, Caper, to launch 10 carts equipped with a barcode scanner and a touchscreen display that shows the tally of the costs of the items in the cart, along with a payment terminal, so that consumers can skip the line when they’re finished shopping. To further personalize the customer’s trip to the store, the touch screen displays suggested recipes, flyer sales, and a GPS so shoppers can quickly find items in the store.":1,"#Smart Carts at Sobeys Canada":1,"#In this post, I’m going to take a look at how one technological advancement is making waves.":1,"#What You Need to Know About \"Just Walk Out\" Technology":1,"#After selecting items the customer wants to purchase, the last thing they want to do is wait in line. They just want to leave.":1,"#iQmetrix | What You Need to Know About \"Just Walk Out\" Technology":1,"#Read the Whitepaper The Next-Gen Store of the Future":1,"#Renee Mohr":1,"#Advancements in technology have been true game-changers for the retail industry, and they show no signs of slowing down. From Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and 5G connections, the future of retail is full of potential as more and more new technologies emerge. In a time of steep competition by ecommerce retailers, these technologies are designed to enhance the retailer’s ability to effectively deliver a seamless, personalized shopping experience.":1,"#Interested in learning more content about the future of retail? Check out our whitepaper, The Next-Gen Store of the Future, to get a forward-thinking perspective on how retail store technology will evolve, and what steps to take in the short and long term to become future-ready.":1,"#With forward-looking retailers investing in cashierless technology, more and more companies should be looking at how they too can advance the customer experience. After selecting items the customer wants to purchase, the last thing they want to do is wait in line. They just want to leave. Which is the main benefit of automated retail technology: a faster, more efficient shopping experience.":1,"#Furthermore, staff can be present to help sell product or answer questions about the products, meaning the retailer is investing in the associates who help to help further enhance the shopping experience.":1,"#Other minor concerns are issues with false accusations of shoplifting, accidental purchases, and children picking up items, but there are easy ways to alleviate these concerns. Similar to how self-checkouts have associates stationed at the cluster of checkouts, you can have an employee at the store exit, upon or prior to charging for items, to resolve any issues the customer may be experiencing. The employee would be ready if the customer had a purchase dispute or requires additional assistance.":1,"#Cashierless technology benefits both the customer and the retailer. Smart Carts and “just walk out” technology will gather the shopping habits of its consumers, providing you with valuable data that will help you understand consumer psychology, optimize inventory levels, and reduce clutter in grocery stores. Naturally, technologies designed to track your every move in the store must protect the shoppers and their children’s identities. The trouble lies with trusting any one system too much, and the hurdle that retailers wanting to leverage this technology face is that they must first convince customers that the system is trustworthy enough to use it.":1,"#In fact, economists view new technological innovation as a good transition for the economy in the long run as workers get better jobs.":1,"#“AI won’t cut jobs, won’t kill jobs. I actually do think that companies, including grocers, will require probably the same amount of employees with different skill sets.”":1,"#For instance, one widespread concern of the innovations in automated retail is the elimination of jobs for cashiers and other floor staff. While this means it could eliminate low wage, low skill jobs, it’s also likely that new retail purchase technology could create high-wage, high-skill jobs. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie University in Halifax, doesn’t believe jobs will be lost, saying:":1,"#Since this is an emerging technological trend, there’s bound to be factors that could make consumers second guess their next trip to a just-walk-out store.":1,"#Cashierless Technology: More Pros Than Cons":1,"#by Renee Mohr on Nov. 12, 2019 in Customer Experience Omnichannel Retail Trends IoT ":1,"#3. Custom Promotions":1,"#It goes without saying that your brick-and-mortar locations need to be easy to find. The TracPoint App includes a location tab, which displays your locations closest to the customer, so they can get there easily. It also includes your store’s contact information and operating hours.":1,"#2. Store Locator":1,"#Are your salespeople still using paper business cards? It’s 2022. It’s time to be honest and admit that paper business cards are not a cost-effective way to network. You order a box of 500 for each employee and 90% of those get lost, end up in someone’s laundry, or go in the trash. It’s time to let go. The TracPoint App can be loaded on the customer’s device in seconds, giving them access to your store associates via one-touch calling, email, Google reviews, social media, and so much more.":1,"#1. Digital Business Card":1,"#Each app is customized to your brand and packed with features. Here are just seven of the most effective tools in the platform to help you reach your sales goals in 2022.":1,"#Retailers in 2022 need to be equipped with the latest technology to engage their salespeople and their customers. The TracPoint Apps platform, which is integrated with iQmetrix’s retail management software, is designed specifically for wireless retailers to create loyalty among their customers and increase sales.":1,"#7 Tools to Help Create Customer Loyalty in 2022":1,"#How the TracPoint Apps platform improves customer experience to bring shoppers to your wireless retail store again and again.":1,"#iQmetrix | 7 Tools to Help Create Customer Loyalty in 2022":1,"#Learn more about the TracPoint App and how it can help your business reach its goals.":1,"#If you want to build customer loyalty, you need to focus on the customer experience. This is as true in wireless retail as it has ever been. In today’s highly competitive marketplace, shoppers have more and more options, making it harder than ever to attract customers and create loyalty.":1,"#It’s clear that 2022 will bring new challenges for wireless retailers. The TracPoint App gives you a comprehensive tool that will equip your business to face this upcoming year head on.":1,"#Retailers need to be as flexible as ever. With the pandemic still lingering, every customer has different expectations for retailers. Connect your customers to your online shop, give access to your device trade-in page, or give customers the ability to schedule an appointment. Include any mobile link you’d like to add functionality and features to your app.":1,"#7. Omnichannel Shopping Solutions":1,"#As we move into 2022, consumers are going online for almost everything. For retailers, that means your online presence needs to be on point. The first place your customers are going to look for before they shop with you are your online reviews. They want to know what to expect. The app allows your customers to leave a review on Google or Yelp with just one click — no need to search for your page.":1,"#6. Online Reviews":1,"#One of the most cost-effective ways to gain a new customer is through referral. Let your customer advocate for you. In the app, customers can refer your store or associate by sharing your digital business card to their friends and family with the click of a button.":1,"#5. Customer Referrals":1,"#More direct communication with customers is an essential part of the formula when it comes to customer loyalty. Deliver messages to your customers inside the app, and include promotions, events, and more. You can even filter messages by device type, carrier, and other identifiers.":1,"#4. Push Messaging":1,"#The overwhelming majority (97%) of consumers look for deals when they shop, according to Hawk Incentives Research. What’s more, 91% said they would share a promotion with a friend or family member if given the chance. And 77% spend $10-$50 more when shopping with a discount. As a retailer, it’s your job to help new customers get their foot in the door with a little incentive. You can create and track promotions that are customized for your brand within minutes, using TracPoint App’s promotion designer.":1,"#by TracPoint iQmetrix Partner on Jan. 17, 2022 in Customer Experience Retail Marketing Wireless Retail ":1,"#7 Tools to Help Create Customer Loyalty in 2022":1,"#4 Human Resource Issues Wireless and Repair Retailers Can Avoid":1,"#by Renee Mohr on Aug. 3, 2018":1,"#Can Your Retail POS Do This? 9 Things to Expect From Your Retail Payment System":1,"#by VoiceComm on Aug. 22, 2018":1,"#How to Save Time and Money with VoiceComm’s VMI":1,"#by Stephanie Boyle on Aug. 28, 2018":1,"#You are on page 18":1,"#by Sophie McKee-Wright on Jul. 30, 2018":1,"#by Statflo on Sep. 5, 2018":1,"#iQmetrix | Customer Experience":1,"#Customer Experience Posts":1,"#Prepaid continues to make a splash. One player in the space that seems to be gaining a lot of traction is Mobile X, the brainchild of former Boost Mobile executive Peter Addington. Mobile X has a “build your own plan’ approach that is very consumer centric and gaining traction. Exciting new players like this are rising along with the rapidly growing prepaid brands of established carriers, such as Total by Verizon, which has pledged to open hundreds of TbV doors this year. We can expect prepaid to continue to be a massive growth area and major topic of discussion for some time to come.":1,"#by Jason Raymer on Jan. 17, 2024 in CES Wireless Trends Retail Industry Trends ":1,"#Access to Bard as well as Workspace Labs is available to users in nearly 200 countries, including some notoriously repressive countries like Eritrea. What’s surprising is where it’s not available: Canada, with Germany, France, and several other European countries also considering restrictions.":1,"#Of course, ChatGPT is far from the only generative AI chatbot on the market. In early May, both Google and Microsoft opened access to their own generative AI chatbots — Google Bard and Bing AI — for some users. Less than two weeks later, at their annual Developers Conference, Google announced plans to upgrade key Google Suite utilities with generative AI capabilities to help users with internet searching and writing emails — both features that are currently available to some Google users through Workspace Labs — Google’s „trusted tester program” that allows users to try new AI features.":1,"#OpenAI released an app version of its generative AI chatbot, ChatGPT, for iOS in late May, allowing native access to iPhone users with phones compatible with iOS 16.1 or later without needing to use a web browser — which offers many benefits for both convenience and accessibility. However, Android users still need to access ChatGPT via web browser — though OpenAI promises an Android version of the app is „coming soon”.":1,"#Regulatory concerns have created a patchwork of AI availability, making new AI products unavailable in a growing list of countries.":1,"#Generative AI is still hugely processor-intensive.":1,"#The pace of technological evolution is likely to slow, given that government agencies and leading AI experts alike are calling for immediate regulation.":1,"#However, as quickly as this technology is moving, there are two big reasons that it’s going to be a while until consumers see generative AI apps on their smartphones:":1,"#iQmetrix | AI for Smartphones? Not Any Time Soon":1,"#The evolving landscape of generative AI technology, questions about data privacy, and debates over regulation mean we won’t see smartphone-based…":1,"#In the just-over six months since ChatGPT’s first public release, AI technology has continued to evolve at a dizzying pace, with seemingly game-changing announcements coming nearly every week. The last two months in particular have seen a number of technology companies making major announcements about implementation strategies for generative AI and AI technology in general.":1,"#What Are the Top 3 Trends for AI in Telecom in 2023?":1,"#The Overview Newsletter Subscription":1,"#Want to stay on top of telecom retail industry trends? Sign up for our monthly email newsletter, The Overview, to bring you even more telecom retail news and analysis.":1,"#All of which means that for a while, consumers will be restricted to using web-based applications for text-based AI like ChatGPT. Similarly, AI art will be handled through web-based tools like Midjourney for all but the most hardcore gamers and graphics enthusiasts.":1,"#Even the process of installing stable diffusion is not for the faint of heart, requiring first downloading several utilities as well as using command line prompts to set everything up. (It took me about two hours to install at home, after some false starts and troubleshooting.)":1,"#By comparison, Stable Diffusion — the protocol used in several popular online AI art generators like Midjourney — is a much more manageable 8GB. However, the processor power required to run Stable Diffusion is unmanageable for all but the most serious desktop gaming rigs. Stable Diffusion simply won’t run on anything with an integrated GPU (Graphics Processing Unit).":1,"#There’s a reason why text-based generative AI is also known as „large language model” AI. ChatGPT is trained on a data set of 300 billion words and has 570 gigabytes of text data. (Imagine trying to fit all that and your favorite music on your phone’s SD card!) The training data is also limited to data until September 2021, meaning that a truly up-to-date set would be even larger.":1,"#Generative AI is still too processor-intensive to run natively on smartphones.":1,"#Surprisingly, even with the uncertainty created by regulatory scrutiny, top AI companies and researchers are also calling for limits. There are disagreements about the particulars of what regulation of AI should look like, but most major experts in the field — including Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, and Elon Musk — agree that regulation is necessary.":1,"#The reason? The concern most cited by regulators currently is data privacy and data collection. By default, ChatGPT saves your chat history and uses it to train the AI model running the technology. However, ChatGPT has no age verification mechanism in place, giving it no ability to comply with tighter regulations for collection of data from children.":1,"#There are a lot of technical and regulatory hurdles to be cleared before smartphones can natively run generative AI apps.":1,"#by Ash Kreider on Jun. 29, 2023 in KI ":1,"#Arfaq Naeem, Co-Founder of Drextel, said, „We’re excited to partner with iQmetrix and bring this industry-leading solution to our partners. Until now, many retailers have been missing out on game-changing benefits, including but not limited to inventory management, drop-shipping, customized reporting and CRM. It’s not just about selling phones; it’s about running your business smarter and giving your customers the best experience possible.”":1,"#Jason Raymer, Senior Vice President of Revenue at iQmetrix, said, „Working with Drextel to bring our Interconnected Commerce solutions to its retailer base is the kind of partnership that is at the core of what iQmetrix does. Interconnected Commerce is all about creating the seamless connectivity that optimizes wireless retail operations and elevates customer experiences, and that’s also what Drextel is focused on. This collaboration is a perfect fit, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with the Drextel team and help their retailers unlock the full potential of their wireless operations.”":1,"#Jason Raymer, Senior Vice President of Revenue at iQmetrix, said, “Working with Drextel to bring our Interconnected Commerce solutions to its retailer base is the kind of partnership that is at the core of what iQmetrix does. Interconnected Commerce is all about creating the seamless connectivity that optimizes wireless retail operations and elevates customer experiences, and that’s also what Drextel is focused on. This collaboration is a perfect fit, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with the Drextel team and help their retailers unlock the full potential of their wireless operations.”":1,"#Arfaq Naeem, Co-Founder of Drextel, said, “We’re excited to partner with iQmetrix and bring this industry-leading solution to our partners. Until now, many retailers have been missing out on game-changing benefits, including but not limited to inventory management, drop-shipping, customized reporting and CRM. It’s not just about selling phones; it’s about running your business smarter and giving your customers the best experience possible.”":1,"#by Joannah Connolly on Jan. 26, 2023 in CES Wireless Trends ":1,"#The CSA has anticipated such concerns, and released a whitepaper outlining Matter’s security standards. This detailed a series of security protocols that the CSA implemented to prevent data leakage and ensure strong levels of cybersecurity. The report said, “Great care has been taken in the design of Matter to minimize the amount of information that needs to be shared between nodes, thereby minimizing the potential for inadvertent leakage of information.”":1,"#One of the first companies to publicly announce its support, even before Matter was officially launched, was Google. In an announcement way back in spring 2021, Google said, “Android will be one of the leading operating systems with built-in support for Matter, letting you quickly set up [any Matter-compliant] devices with Google and link your favorite Android apps.” Other big-name brands quickly signed up for the collaboration, and many were already involved as existing members of the 2002-formed Zigbee Alliance.":1,"#This new IoT interoperability standard has been in the pipeline for several years and was developed from an existing connectivity protocol. The effort began almost three years ago when CSA, formerly the Zigbee Alliance, launched “Project Connected Home over IP” (informally known as Project CHIP, or simply CHIP). Zigbee is an existing IoT protocol for smart home devices, which already has millions of certified products, although it does not offer the same level of seamless connectivity and control promised by the new Matter standard. The rebranded CSA built on the Zigbee standard and formally launched the new Matter protocol at the end of 2022. CSA member companies are now working hard to certify their products as Matter compliant, if they are not already.":1,"#Collecting customer data is a critical first step toward personalized customer experience, but insight is nothing without implementation! By investing in solutions like retail management software, businesses can capture and analyze customer data, automate, and streamline processes, and deliver more personalized experiences.":1,"#Invest in technology to collect data, gain insights, and implement strategies:":1,"#So how can businesses in the wireless industry leverage the power of personalization? Here are some key strategies:":1,"#But why is personalization so important? Simply put, it’s the new competitive advantage. In a world where customers have more options than ever before, they’re looking for more than just a transactional relationship with businesses. They want to feel like they’re part of something bigger, that their needs and preferences are understood and valued. And when they find a business that delivers that kind of experience, they’re more likely to become loyal customers for life.":1,"#The answer lies in the power of personalization.":1,"#As a retailer, you know that the customer experience is everything. In a world where customers have more options than ever before, creating a great experience is essential to standing out from the competition and driving customer loyalty. But how can you create tailored customer experiences that meets the unique needs and preferences of every customer?":1,"#Personalization is the new competitive advantage. Tailor experiences, use customer data for suggestions, and provide personalized support to foster…":1,"#Buy Online Pickup In-Store: From Innovation to Must-Have":1,"#At the end of the day, the power of personalization lies in its ability to create connections and foster loyalty. By understanding your customers and tailoring the experience accordingly, you can create a competitive advantage that sets your business apart. And with the help of technology, you can do it more effectively and efficiently than ever before. So, what are you waiting for? It’s time to start leveraging the power of personalization and taking your customer experience to the next level.":1,"#Provide personalized customer support:":1,"#The same customer data that allows for tailored promotions can also enable personalized promotions and discounts, which can create a sense of exclusivity and incentivize purchase. Those":1,"#Imagine you’re exploring an online store, and not only does it recommend products based on your preferences, but it also suggests phone cases and accessories that perfectly match the items you’ve purchased before – eliminating the need to scroll through products and guess which accessories will fit your devices. These sorts of tailored suggestions save you time and energy, making you more likely to make repeat purchases from that site!":1,"#Businesses can use customer data to gain a deeper understanding of their customers’ needs, preferences, and behavior, which can help them deliver more personalized experiences, from product recommendations to tailored marketing campaigns.":1,"#Use customer data to tailor suggestions and promotions:":1,"#by Caoimhin Smyth on May 25, 2023 in Customer Experience Unified Commerce ":1,"#At Cesium, we feel most “in our element” when fulfilling our customers’ needs by providing them with latest wireless and consumer electronics accessories. From cases and screen protectors to portable power and speakers (and everything in between), our extensive portfolio features some of the best-selling brands in the industry.":1,"#Supply chain disruptions have remained a challenge for retailers in 2022. Some retailers are still struggling with stock shortages, while others struggle with inventory surpluses caused by over-corrections as orders stuck on container ships for many months all arriving at once.":1,"#6. Supply Chain Disruptions":1,"#Online spending on Black Friday totaled $9.2 billion, an increase of only 2.3% over last year, as compared to a 7.7% U.S. inflation rate in October; Cyber Monday, however, saw online spending increase by 5.3% to 11.3 billion.":1,"#Sentiment in response to this question was pretty divided, with a lot of uncertainly. Close to two thirds (63%) said they thought they would be either about the same or less successful than last year. Those who said they weren’t sure made up nearly a fifth (17%), with those feeling they would be more successful accounting for the remaining fifth (20%).":1,"#Our second flash poll at the Industry Address, held in mid-October, asked attendees how they were feeling about Black Friday this year; did they think they would be more successful than last year, about the same, less successful, or were they unsure?":1,"#Event Poll: Are you predicting a more successful Black Friday compared to last year for your business?":1,"#59% of consumers say they were stressed about holiday shopping due to inflation":1,"#say they’re watching spending more closely":1,"#of global consumers think their personal finances will worsen this year":1,"#of Americans say it’s a bad time to make major electronics purchases":1,"#Future of Telecom Retail: Industry Roadmap and Beyond":1,"#. Given the skyrocketing price of necessities, consumers are planning to spend less this year:":1,"#% average monthly rate of inflation in the first half of":1,"#% this year, well short of the US’":1,"#a holiday sales growth of between":1,"#Deloitte projects":1,"#At the time of writing, consumers are set to spend less this holiday season.":1,"#5. Inflation Dampens Outlook for 2022 Holiday Spending":1,"#Lastly, acquisitions and divestures continue to change the competitive landscape, as in the case of Boost Mobile. Previously, Dish acquired Boost from the Sprint and T-Mobile divesture, but have recently said that they might be interested in divesting Boost to a new group.":1,"#Additionally, Verizon and T-Mobile are continuing to steal post-paid subscribers from traditional carriers. They’ve also expanded rapidly into providing internet connectivity, with approximately 69% of their internet subscribers onboarding within the last 12 months.":1,"#In Q2, cableco and wireline carriers represented one third of post-paid activations in the United States. During that same time period, Xfinity added 700,000 activations, but still only have an 8% penetration of their wireline base — indicating that they are likely to experience huge continued growth.":1,"#The Need For a Unified Customer Experience":1,"#T1 carriers have partnered with wireline MVNOs for several years, but there is a growing shift in how well they’re doing in the market with companies like Cox, Altice, Charter, and Xfinity growing very rapidly.":1,"#4. Shifting Market Competition":1,"#The expansion of 5G networks represents an opportunity to connect people in people in rural communities and create new economies and ways of living. It also represents a new market for carriers with much lower acquisition costs; in a market where 28% of rural people remain unconnected, acquisition costs are much lower because companies can deliver net new services.":1,"#The gap is even more stark for those living outside of urban areas. Globally, people in urban areas are twice as likely to have internet access than people in rural areas, and four times more likely in the least developed economies (47% versus 13%).":1,"#26.7 million people in the United States remain unconnected; globally, that number is a massive 2.96 billion. Additionally, access varies widely; Nearly 90% of people in developed economies use the internet, compared to only 27% of people in the least developed economies. While internet access rates are growing faster in least developed economies, the gap between advanced economies and the least developed economies remains very wide at 63%.":1,"#After several years of slower-than-predicted deployments, the pace of 5G network expansion is finally starting to pick up. However, with the focus shifting to next-generation networks, it’s easy to lose sight of the millions of people who don’t have access to the internet or wireless services.":1,"#3. 5G’s Bridge Over the Digital Divide":1,"#Not all emergency services can receive text messages. Apple’s Emergency SOS required workaround where messages in some areas will be intercepted and resent because of this limitation.":1,"#The bandwidth to deliver service is extremely limited — in many cases too small even for SMS messaging.":1,"#Because the technology is so new, it’s unclear what the impact of satellite messaging will be. Additionally, there are currently severe technical limitations.":1,"#The State of the Industry":1,"#, though the updated OS isn’t set to release until Q":1,"#In addition to strategic carrier partnerships, we’re also seeing handset manufacturers starting to implement satellite messaging technology. Both Apple and Huawei have announced emergency satellite messaging capabilities in their latest flagship phone launches. Additionally, support for satellite messaging will be implemented as part of Android":1,"#North American carrier has announced strategic space partnerships. T-Mobile and SpaceX have announced plans to connect phones with StarLink satellites. Verizon has announced plans to use Amazon’s planned Project Kuiper satellites, while AT&T has similar plans with OneWeb.":1,"#In the past year, every Tier":1,"#2. The Telecom Space Race":1,"#Those who said they didn’t have any feelings about this were in the clear minority (13%). The same proportion (13%) said that they were nervous about disruption to carriers, while a third (34%) said that they were excited for the technology and consumer choice. The remaining 40% said that they were both nervous and excited.":1,"#Feeling nothing about it":1,"#A little bit of both of the above":1,"#Excited for this new technology and the consumer choice it offers":1,"#Nervous about how this could disrupt carrier’s existing business":1,"#Understanding the Recent History of Telecom Retail":1,"#We asked Telecom Industry Address attendees to vote in a flash poll asking how they were feeling about this new eSIM announcement. Were they…":1,"#Event Poll: How do you feel about Apple’s eSIM announcement?":1,"#announcement.":1,"#carrier – T-Mobile – supported it prior to the iPhone":1,"#years, and only one T":1,"#Previously, there hasn’t been a lot of support for eSIM in North America. Only a few handsets have been eSIM only over the past":1,"#Apple has long been a market leader in pushing the adoption of new technologies, and this year’s iPhone 14 launch only continues that trend. Apple’s announcement that the new iPhone would get rid of the physical SIM card tray has propelled the market forward very quickly, forcing carriers and partners to change how they operate in order to retain iPhone users who want to upgrade to the newest model.":1,"#1. Apple Disrupts the Market with eSIM Only iPhone 14":1,"#Ongoing supply chain disruption":1,"#This year’s holiday retail outlook":1,"#Content":1,"#Red-hot telecom sector competition":1,"#5G service deployments and the digital divide":1,"#An increasing telecom space race":1,"#The shift toward eSIM":1,"#The six major trends influencing telecom as we close out 2022 and move into 2023 are:":1,"#Telecom Retail in 2022":1,"#eSIM technology strategies emerge: The recent iPhone 14 launch has propelled this trend into the lead as one to watch. However, it’s still too early to assess the impact yet, and it’s still uncertain how carriers and retailers are going to operationalize or monetize this technology.":1,"#MVNO brands in the United States alone":1,"#MVNO as a sector is growing very rapidly; at time of writing, there are more than":1,"#MVNO with no retail front gains momentum:":1,"#In such challenging times, understanding the market is more critical than ever. In the following pages, we’ll discuss the recent history of telecom retail, trends driving change right now, and where we see telecom retail heading into the future.":1,"#Telecom carriers are also facing competition from entirely new sectors — such as wireline carriers, who have emerged as an increasing threat to the Tier":1,"#Wireline carriers emerge as competitive threat:":1,"#years":1,"#, the past three years have seen more consolidation of wireless carriers than we’ve seen in the past":1,"#While the pace of consolidation slowed in":1,"#Increased carrier consolidation:":1,"#Another change that started small and has really taken off is bundling of wireless plans and other services like streaming, or — as in the case of a recent announcement by Boost Mobile — banking. Bundling activity is growing increasingly fierce, with offerings changing daily and creating intense competition among all carriers":1,"#Carrier bundling begins to impact subscriber churn:":1,"#G LTE":1,"#2021 saw an explosion of retail activity as consumers hungry for a return to pre-pandemic holiday traditions drove an 8.5% total increase in holiday shopping revenue—the largest annual increase in 17 years. This year, however, is seeing a net decrease in holiday spending after taking inflation into consideration.":1,"#. However, the expansion of":1,"#5G becomes network focus:":1,"#Buy (or Reserve) Online, Pick up In-Store took off quickly thanks to the pandemic. However, unlike other pandemic shopping trends, BOPIS and ROPIS are predicted to continue growing as a share of retail sales":1,"#BOPIS and ROPIS:":1,"#The massive growth of prepaid has been something many never anticipated. At its inception, prepaid wasn’t considered a threat to post-paid carriers. However, over time they’ve gained lots of traction and prepaid carriers like Cricket have become massive players in this space":1,"#With the complex effects of inflation, supply chain problems, and economic downturn on both businesses and consumers, 2022 has been a challenging year for telecom retail.":1,"#Prepaid carriers gained momentum:":1,"#The change from fixed-term contracts to device financing required retailers to reimagine what selling and activating a device looked like, even if financing still locked consumers into their carriers meant that not a whole lot changed for consumers":1,"#Contracts with fixed terms replaced with financing:":1,"#Because it virtually eliminated the margin on devices, the iPhone forced a major change in how retailers operated their stores and sold devices":1},"version":394}]