Oftentimes, upgrading to the latest wireless technology can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. Upgrade eligibility and the condition of an old device will dictate the customer’s urgency to explore purchasing a new device.

A flexible, omnichannel trade-in platform can revolutionize the way consumers and businesses upgrade to the latest technology and provide a unique and consistent customer experience across all channels.

The Changing Role of Retail

E-commerce has created a world of convenience and customers are demanding that convenience in all aspects of retail.

More so, they’re drawn to the flexibility of omnichannel experiences. Retailers have started shifting toward synchronizing the physical and digital worlds, especially in the mobile retail market allowing wireless retailers to deliver a better customer experience, reduce churn rate, and increase spending power and revenue opportunities.

Consumers can purchase a new device and start an upgrade online and then immediately go to their local retailer to pick up the new device in person. This allows them to migrate important data at home, and either drop the old unit off in a brick-and-mortar store or drop it in the mail.

By leveraging device trade-in, wireless retailers can help facilitate the upgrade process and manage new customer acquisitions. When selecting a trade-in partner, it’s imperative for wireless retailers to choose a vendor that improves the experience, not burdens it.

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The Value of the Omnichannel Experience

By integrating and aligning channels, wireless retailers can reduce the cost of trade-in programs by avoiding the shipping of materials and drive traffic into their physical locations to upsell/cross-sell opportunities. This key differentiator creates a competitive advantage for retailers and disrupts the status quo for online-only retailers alike.

Customers, on the other hand, don’t have to go through the process of receiving boxes, packaging and shipping the device, and then waiting for their credit. Trade-ins put money into customers’ wallets that they otherwise wouldn’t have, and present customers with the opportunity to purchase newer devices and accessories in-store or online at a reduced cost.

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The Omnichannel Advantage

Utilizing brick and mortar locations in conjunction with virtual storefronts not only put your customers in control and at ease, but this can also serve as a competitive advantage against the big online players. While e-commerce has driven new customer expectations in wireless retail, many online retailers don’t have physical locations, thus can’t fulfill transactions immediately.

An omnichannel strategy truly proves to be advantageous for retailers, as a study conducted by Harvard Business Review revealed that 73% of consumers use various channels during shopping journeys. Customers spend 4% more time in retail when using multiple channels during their shopping journey. It’s estimated that by 2020, 56% of retailer locations will become hubs for omnichannel fulfillment.

The appeal of newly released devices and simplicity of multi-channel retail options will continue to drive engagement of core shoppers when it’s time to trade in those devices, draw them to the physical store, and put money and/or a new device in their hands.

Omnichannel retailing is moving the needle towards a completely new reality of retail.

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