StorefrontBacktalk:
When Wal-Mart’s Sam’s Club announced
Tuesday (August 10) that it planned to have all of its U.S. locations support Wi-Fi for customers by November 2010, it was just the latest in a long line of retail conversions to consumer Wi-Fi. Such moves, although designed to improve the customer experience in-store, have the potential for actually causing the opposite impact.
Sam’s Club is touting its Wi-Fi for an unusual purpose: TV sales. The move will allow its customers “greater use of their Wi-Fi-enabled smartphones while shopping and enable associates to demo new IPTVs (Internet TVs). Sam’s Club is the first warehouse club to offer live IPTV demos and carry a 1080p broadcast signal. Sam’s Club expects to showcase 3D TVs in all locations and online next month,†Sam’s Club said in a statement. Read more.