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What they were doing was what online retailers such as Amazon had been doing for years in tracking their customers through cookies, but taking it into the brick-and-mortar space to increase efficiencies of doing business by having a better understanding of their customers’ behaviour.
While many of the changes with regards to online shopping will remain, a McKinsey report in October 2020 found that 40% of South Africans polled had already returned to normal out-of-home retail activities, such as going to retail outlets. It also found 79% of South Africans tried new shopping behaviours, which showed a change of loyalty to brands and retailers, and how they shopped. That is both a challenge and a great opportunity for retailers.
There is an enormous evolution happening in the Wi-Fi space. For us at home, Wi-Fi is access to the internet, but for retailers globally, Wi-Fi means access to their customers. Locally, we don’t tend to use it the way we could and should. We have invested in the analytic capabilities and can provide the data needed.