Covid-19 has impacted everyone, but Retail has probably been one of the most impacted. In-store experience in future will likely be talked about as pre-covid and post-covid. It has never been more urgent than today to drive towards a far more digital in-store experience across formats. Technologies that were considered futuristic such as in-store robots, AR/VR touchless experiences, digital signages and contactless checkouts are needed now!
The central enabler to all these technologies is in-store connectivity. The quality of connected experience inside the store will become an important factor of the in-store experience. But our networks today are far from providing an ideal in-store experience. Telecom operators are not incentivized to invest in indoor, because the fruits of the connectivity is disproportionately tilted towards the retailer rather than the telecom operator. Thus, retailers are now taking charge of their in-store connected experiences. They are investing in multiple connectivity technologies such as WiFi 6, IoT, and private LTE networks. But the quality of connected experience is not just a function of the quality of the network but also that of the apps that deliver the service. Retailers thus need an integrated platform that helps them monitor that monitor connected experience as perceived by the end-user and enable them to quickly diagnose the issue into a network, app, cloud/CDN, or a device issue.
