Customer satisfaction is high priority among retailers and boosts the probability of repeat visits and purchases. Offering top-quality products is important, but so is creating a comfortable and carefree environment for shoppers. Physical sensations directly influence duration of stay, so maintaining an acceptable ambient temperature is essential.

// Enabling better temperature control

A client wanted to improve temperature monitoring in a popular yet traditional shopping mall comprising retailers in apparel, cosmetics and accessories, along with indoor food stalls that attract streams of visitors at weekends and public holidays. Indoor temperatures fluctuate according to a changing influx of diners and are made all the more uncontrollable by hot and steamy air from open kitchens.

Temperature control was performed manually two or three times a day and was ineffective. This was a golden opportunity to apply IoT technology.

// Putting IoT technology to work

IoT solutions are easy to deploy, highly flexible and do not require major alterations to be made to an existing environment. We chose wireless sensors to minimize impact on daily operations and to avoid the cost of retrofitting cabling and conduits throughout the mall. Automatic monitoring on a 24/7 basis would ensure accuracy, and alerts to changes in temperature would prompt immediate action such as making ventilation adjustments to keep shoppers comfortable.

However, wireless connectivity poses a challenge in a densely-populated retail environment, where Wi-Fi networks in so many shops could cause interruption to IoT system signals.

// NB-IoT enables simpler and faster deployment

We rose to the challenge by opting for the NB-IoT connectivity protocol. This new wireless standard was established specifically to suit the low-power, long-range and indoor penetration requirements of IoT solutions. NB-IoT maximizes power efficiency for sensor devices, while ensurng smooth traffic and differing frequencies to minimize signal interference. The client’s shopping mall was particularly suitable for NB-IoT deployment because a LPWAN (low-power-wide-area network) provides comprehensive coverage. Edge devices complete with an NB-IoT radio module were connected to our IoT data platform without a gateway or router, thereby facilitating even simpler and faster IoT deployment.

// Enabling customers to enjoy a pleasant shopping journey

A reliable IoT system created a pleasant shopping experience more likely to lead to repeat visits and purchases. The solution also cut labor costs and allowed better allocation of resources.