Lift A Phone And Learn
Gail Chiasson, North American Editor
Bell retail stores in the Canadian provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta are now being equipped with a series of passive and interactive screens using Omnivex software for point of purchase displays.
When a customer picks up a phone on display, a digital screen nearby informs customers about the specific Bell product and services, while enhancing brand awareness. The software senses the phone being lifted and posts content on the screen about the phone’s features and calling plans. The interactive signage allows customers to browse and compare available mobile phones at their own pace, enhancing their shopping experience while in the Bell retail location. This increases customer satisfaction and answers questions during the purchase process, allowing shoppers to decide on a purchase even if the store clerks are busy serving others.
A total of 3,000 screens are being rolled out across 600 select Bell stores of different sizes, designs and layouts.
“The screen can act as an Executive Dashboard, giving Bell information on what seems to interest people, in comparison to what they buy,” says Doug Bannister, CEO of Omnivex, located in Concord, Ont.. “What people pick up to look at and get information on can vary according to the store layout. These points can be important if Bell is trying to move inventories, for example.”
Bell, Canada’s largest communications company, has been providing a comprehensive line of communication services for residential and business customers across Canada for more than 125 years. Bell stores support the company’s consumer product lines such as Bell Internet, Bell TV, Bell Home Phone, and Bell Mobility.
Bell stores sell wireless communications services and handsets under the Bell Mobility and Solo Mobile brands, as well as the Virgin brand in Canada. (Bell Canada recently announced it was buying Virgin Mobile Canada, paying CA$142 million to buy the 50% of the company it didn’t already own.) Products include Blackberry, Palm Treo, Samsung, Motorola, LG and others.
“After a review of the software available from a number of providers, we determined that Omnivex’s products provided us with the best solution to meet our needs and those of our customers,” says Jackie Foo, Bell’s vice-president of Stores. “Bell aims to simplify the decision making for our customers by providing them with a superior in-store experience, and Omnivex’s digital signage is an excellent part of this approach as it helps provide enhanced information to shoppers.”
Omnivex software in oriented to real-time information and is used in a wide variety of locations in Canada. Among them, the company handles installations throughout the Toronto Convention Centre, showing where meetings and events are being held as well as emergency notices. It also handles flight information and other details at Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto airports.
“Bell’s digital screens are strictly for retail applications,” says Bannister. “They don’t carry advertising. They are also for sales uplift.”
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