As retail shopping habits shift, traders find themselves relying more and more on proprietary software that drives shopper loyalty, engagement and supplementary revenue in unprecedented ways.

In order to achieve maximum exposure throughout the local retail real estate, Skybird Tech needed a service provider that could offer a full suite of connection options at a competitive price. Vodacom Business was first in rising to the challenge.

Skybird Tech

Since 2015, Skybird Tech has provided retail traders throughout the country with in-depth analysis of their environment, shoppers and tenants. The company’s combination of software, hardware and infrastructure not only measures but also adapts to shoppers’ behaviour, which enhances their experience and achieves better results for the property owner.

The Skybird Tech journey began in mid-2015 with the deployment of the entire solution into the firm’s first super-regional mall. Since then, Skybird Tech has grown and adapted the overall solution, based on practical experience across a variety of deployments across South Africa. Recently the company released the SmartMall mobile app, which lets you:

• Find malls – and stores within the malls – of interest to you
• Follow your favourite stores
• Receive and manage your free in-mall Wi-Fi data
• Navigate to your favourite SmartMalls using Google or Apple Maps
• Contact stores with click to dial
• Interact and engage with your favourite stores.

A partnership with Vodacom Business

Vodacom Business was able to assist Skybird Tech with a rollout of connectivity solutions, such as Vodacom Fibre, Vodacom VoIP and One Net Business. These were deployed to specific shopping centres where clients required internet access for their tenants to trade. In the retail environment, retailers depend on connectivity for everything, from credit card transactions and Wi-Fi for shoppers, to cloud-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.

Thousands of retail stores now use Vodacom Business connectivity packages to run their businesses. When creating accounts on the SmartMall app, Vodacom Messaging was able to provide a one-time PIN service, ensuring quick and easy logins while on location. Vodacom Fibre is also very competitively priced, so we use this for internet breakout on the free Wi-Fi service we manage on behalf of landlords.

Thanks to the successful rollout of the various connectivity solutions, Skybird Tech’s base of retailers has enjoyed an annual cost saving in excess of R12m. Skybird Tech sees itself expanding into the e-commerce space to provide SMME e-commerce capabilities via a landlord-provided extension to the SmartMall platform. Vodacom Business has a myriad of small business offerings that could be integrated into this solution such as:

1) Managed SMME free WiFi solution, with a branded white-labelled captive portal.

2) White-labelled customer loyalty app.

3) "Spend-and-Win" till slip capturing and spend validation for high-volume campaigns.

4) Location and proximity triggered SMS and push notifications campaign functionality, which fully integrates into existing customer CRM data sets to maximise the value of our clients existing loyalty databases.

5) Enabling frictionless bulk SMS capability via the Vodacom Business Messaging platform.

Benefits of Vodacom Fibre

• Affordable connectivity: well-priced internet access, paired with crystal-clear voice calls across a range of price and speed options.
• A Wi-Fi enabled router: connect up to 25 devices to the router for truly mobile business connectivity.
• LAN connectivity: connect your laptop or POS system via a standard LAN cable.
• Internet access: connect your computers, mobile phones, tablets and credit card terminals.
• Supported voice calling (optional): Port your existing business number, or sign up for additional numbers and enjoy call rates up to 30% less than with a traditional phone line.

Becoming future-ready

Vodacom Business is here to help take your business to the next level. We offer a wide range of products and services to fulfil the telecommunications needs of organisations of all sizes. From mobiles and fixed-line connections to a wealth of broadband and networking solutions, you can count on us to keep you confidently connected.