How customer engagement can be increased with advanced technology

A leading retail brand sought to elevate their in-store experience by utilising advanced technology to improve customer retention and engagement. With physical stores competing for attention in busy European cities, the brand knew that creating a unique, interactive customer experience was key to standing out from the competition. Their goal was to increase customer interaction with products and gather meaningful insights on customer behaviour to inform future strategies.

Challenge

As the brand expanded into competitive urban markets, they faced several challenges related to customer retention and engagement. In-store customers were not interacting with products as much as expected, leading to a lower-than-desired conversion rate. Additionally, the brand lacked comprehensive data on customer behavior within the store, which hindered their ability to make informed decisions about store layout, staffing, and product placement. To improve customer retention, the brand needed an advanced solution that would increase interaction, offer real-time product information, and gather actionable insights on customer behaviour.

Objectives

The brand wanted to improve their customer retention rate and sought to use advanced retail camera and customer experience tools to:

Solution

To address the brand's needs, 45 interactive devices were deployed across major stores in European cities. The stores were equipped with interactive kiosks and advanced headcount and footfall cameras that provided real-time insights into customer movements and interactions. These kiosks featured touchscreens that allowed customers to explore product details, view real-time reviews, and watch demonstration videos.

The system was integrated with an advanced dashboard that gave the brand access to comprehensive data on customer behavior, including dwell times in different sections of the store, interaction rates with specific products, and overall foot traffic. This allowed store managers to monitor customer engagement and make data-driven adjustments to store layouts and promotional campaigns.

Insights

After deploying the interactive kiosks and tracking technology, the brand gained valuable insights into customer behavior:

• Customer Behaviour and Dwell Times: The data revealed how long customers spent in specific areas of the store, allowing the brand to identify which sections attracted the most attention.

• Product Interactions: The kiosks provided real-time data on which products customers interacted with most, giving the brand a clear understanding of customer preferences.

• Increased Front-Store Engagement: Stores saw 3x more interaction with kiosks located at the front, leading the brand to consider adjusting display locations to match ongoing marketing campaigns.

These insights helped the brand understand how customers were engaging with products and which areas of the store were performing best.

Results

The data-driven insights from Merlin Cloud’s advanced technology led to several impactful results:

• 34% increase in user interactions: The interactive kiosks significantly boosted customer engagement, allowing for more hands-on product experiences.

• 3x more engagement with front-of-store kiosks: This insight encouraged the brand to optimise store layouts and reposition kiosks to maximise engagement.

• Better product promotion planning: The brand could now identify which products received the most attention, using this data to inform future store layouts and promotional strategies.

Conclusion

The introduction of interactive kiosks and real-time data tracking gave the brand unprecedented control over their in-store experience. These advanced technologies enabled the brand to offer engaging product demonstrations, gather valuable customer insights, and optimise store layouts for maximum impact. As a result, the brand saw a significant increase in user interactions, more effective product promotions, and the ability to make informed, data-driven decisions about their in-store strategy.

By utilising these advanced tools, the brand was able to elevate their in-store experience and strengthen customer retention, all while gaining deeper insights into customer behaviour that will continue to shape future business decisions.