The ever-increasing number of consumers using mobile devices while shopping in-stores has challenged brick-and-mortar retailers to integrate mobile touchpoints along the journey to purchase. To assist retailers with their digital transformation to become the Store of the Future, Extreme Networks, Inc. introduced ExtremeLocation, a solution that allows retailers to identify, engage and provide personalized guest experiences in-store via shoppers’ mobile devices. By collecting contextual analytics from both Wi-Fi and BLE beacon technology, retailers and store associates can better understand guest demographics, shopping patterns, personal preferences and their exact location in stores, enabling store associates to better engage with customers face-to-face, improve experiences, optimize workflow and store layout and increase sales.

• ExtremeLocation Multi-Tier Location Services: Retailers can identify the presence of mobile devices whether or not the devices are connected to Wi-Fi, locate devices based on zones of a store and position of the devices in the environment based on Wi-Fi triangulation.
• ExtremeWireless WiNG: Integrated wireless infrastructure combines both BLE Bluetooth technology and Wi-Fi to connect guests and store associates in stores.
• Mobile Engagement with Contextual Campaign Engine: This contextual personalization engine gathers analytics and delivers comprehensive insights from BLE beacons that identify who, what, where and when a shopper enters a store to create a personalized experience.
• ExtremeGuest: A comprehensive guest engagement and analytics solution that gathers guest demographic information to allow for personalized messaging.

Executive Perspectives

Patrick Groot Nuelend, GM of Retail and Transportation & Logistics Market, Extreme Networks, Inc., said, “ExtremeLocation brings a new level of insight to our retail customers who are looking to break down the borders between online and in-store and leverage big data to deliver personalization. We’re excited to be able to bring a highly scalable solution to the market that combines the power of Wi-Fi and analytics to track shoppers’ behavior and empower store associates in understanding their shoppers, delivering real-time customer support and bringing shoppers closer to the checkout aisle.”

Miya Knights, Technology Research Director, Planet Retail, informed, “We are seeing shifts in the way consumers shop in stores led by digital technology development, where brick-and-mortar retail must keep pace to remain relevant. Any ‘Store of the Future’ strategy must meet and exceed modern customer expectations by bringing the best of ecommerce and online into the physical store. This is the best way for retailers to effectively target and engage today’s consumers at the shelf edge and point of sale. Extreme’s new location-based analytics solution delivers on these requirements by providing retailers with a finer grained, digitally-enabled understanding of customer behavior in the store. Based on the knowledge of each shopper’s location, demographics, and preferences, it supports the creation of engaging and compelling physical shopping experiences.”

Bob Laliberte, Practice Director & Sr. Analyst, ESG Global, said, “Retailers are increasingly under pressure to provide a differentiated experience to their consumers in their brick and mortar locations. To help deliver that, ESG research indicates that 32% of retail organizations say edge analytics will be one of their top areas of spending in 2018. By taking advantage of the pervasive use of mobile devices while shopping in physical locations, Extreme’s new location technology and analytics solutions will enable retailers to securely provide a more rewarding and personalized real-time in-store experience.”

Rich Hunt, Senior Sales Engineer, OCRCanada/Barcodes, Inc., added, “Extreme’s brand and customer base in the retail market allows us to do business with almost all retailers – large and small – that are looking for reliable wireless and engagement solutions. ExtremeLocation in conjunction with their on-premise ExtremeGuest analytics server, ups the ante and allows us to provide customers with a highly- scalable, competitive and complete solution that delivers a truly personalized, engaging guest experience.”

Recommended Read: Sales Reps Are Embracing Marketing Tactics (And It’s Working)