Secure WiFi for Retailers

Posted by Geraldine Hunt on Fri, Feb 19th, 2016

Harnessing WiFi´s Popularity to Grow Your Business Securely

Many businesses have witnessed the benefits of offering free WiFi to their employees and customers, but not all have considered the benefits of secure WiFi for retailers. There are risks associated with offering unsecure WiFi access - risks that can lead to the loss of customers. There are also opportunities that can be missed unless businesses install secure WiFi for retailers. This post looks at some of those risks and opportunities, and presents a solution that will enable retailers to harness the popularity of WiFi to grow their business securely.

The Potential Risks of Unsecure WiFi

The harnessing of WiFi´s popularity to increase foot traffic, encourage visitors to stay longer and generate additional customer spend was confirmed by a 2014 iGT survey that found 62 percent of customers spend more time in a premises that offers free WiFi access, and around 50 percent of customers spend more money as well. However, not every customer is impressed with the provision of free, unsecure WiFi.

When Starbucks received a lot of criticism for allowing customers to openly view pornographic websites on its premises, McDonalds and Costa Coffee immediately increased their foot traffic by advertising that their WiFi services were filtered to block access to offensive material. The popular DIY outlet IKEA also implemented secure WiFi for retailers to address concerns about children being able to download adult content onto their Smartphones.

It is not just due to the abuse of a free WiFi service that businesses can lose customers. Customers who have their mobile devices infected with malware during their browsing session may also vow never to return to a business premises. According to French telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent, malware attacks on mobile devices are increasing by 25 percent each year. So, if you have not yet had a customer complain that their mobile device has downloaded malware on your premises, the likelihood is that it will happen soon.

The Benefits of Secure WiFi for Retailers

When businesses implement secure WiFi for retailers, the ability to filter out offensive content and block access to websites that contain malware eliminates the risk of customer loss. Word also gets around that your business is providing a secure environment for customers to browse the Internet, conduct business transactions and read emails - enhancing the benefits of offering free WiFi to customers.

Happy customers make for good reviews. Not only is this positive feedback for your business, but Google also uses data from mobile device apps to sort its search engine results. If your business is listed on a few apps (for example address books), then that is going to increase your profile in Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and more potential customers will be visiting your web site.

Talking of your web site, did you know that with secure WiFi for retailers, businesses have the opportunity to set their website as the WiFi network´s home page? Did you also know that secure WiFi for retailers enables businesses to monitor the browsing activity of their customers? The information extracted from customers´ browsing activities allows your business to target incentives towards your customers to increase sales.

WebTitan´s Secure WiFi for Retailers

Acknowledging that you can eliminate the risks associated with unsecured free Wi-Fi, and benefit from some additional marketing opportunities by implementing secure WiFi for retailers, is just the first stage of harnessing WiFi´s popularity to grow your business securely. Now it is time for action. However, not every business has the resources of McDonalds, Costa Coffee or IKEA to dedicate a significant amount of time and money into a web content filtering solution.

Consequently, WebTitan Cloud for WiFi has developed a 100% cloud-based web content solution so that businesses can implement secure WiFi for retailers that requires no hardware or software installations, and that is simple and quick to implement. WebTitan´s solution is scalable for businesses of all sizes and has granular controls that can be used to extensively filter website content with ease.

Unlike some web filtering solutions, WebTitan´s secure WiFi for retailers will not slow down your Internet speed while blocking potentially offensive material and malware, nor is there any restriction on the number of WiFi access points the solution can be used on - a great cost-saving feature for businesses with chains of retail outlets. Furthermore, WebTitan´s solution comes with a full reporting suite to gain an accurate insight into your customer´s browsing activities.

Get more information on WebTitan Cloud for WiFi here