In this Growers Spotlight, Hunter Wilson of Growers Network interviews Jeremy Jacobs, CEO of Eyeconic.tv and EYECHRONIC about their services that improve customer loyalty, hover time, and retention. This Growers Spotlight is focused on new sales technology in the cannabis space. We reached out to clients of the company for their opinions.
The Technology How do you track customer behavior and responses?
We install special technology alongside the TV screens. This technology detects when customers enter the store, when they leave the store, and how long they spend in the store. It also detects return customers and provides statistical information that retailers will find useful.
It works by detecting people’s cell phone signal. Cell phones regularly send out “pings” to test the quality of their connection. The pings are also embedded with information about the cell phone. Our system detects these pings and logs how long the cell phone owner lingers in the store. The system then anonymizes the data.
As a result, store owners can see how many new and return visitors they get without breaching people’s privacy. Because we collect lots of data, we see ourselves as stewards of people’s privacy, and try to act in the general public’s interest.
There are limitations to this technology of course. If somebody isn’t carrying a cell phone, they aren’t picked up by our system. There are other means of circumvention as well.
What have you learned from your data?
We have found that 62% of the customers that appear in the EYECHRONIC network are return visitors. As our data set has grown, we’ve been able to examine what sales really looks like for stores and advertisers. We can estimate how successful an ad campaign will be or what the ROI will be for stores joining our network.
What software is provided with the hardware?
Statistical information tracks traffic during the week, allowing a manager to optimize their staffing. It also tells you what the best time of day for sales is. The software also allows business owners to add their own slides that will appear on the TV.
Are there any downsides to this technology?
There is a potential for abuse out there. Any system that logs and records customer information can interfere with privacy. We do our best to anonymize customer information. Additionally, a retail manager might misuse the information they glean from the technology about their employee performance. That’s a line we don’t want to cross, as it is not our intent with the software package.
Point-of-Sale Systems If I were a business owner, why would I want a platform like EYECHRONIC?
It depends on where you’re coming from in the industry. The platform can serve almost every company in the industry:
If you’re a content provider, you can syndicate your content on our network to increase your viewership. Most TV networks won’t touch cannabis entertainment, but we will.
If you’re a cannabis retailer:
- We’re offering the entire platform for free to any cannabis retailer. It comes with an HDTV, a computer, the statistical software package, and a few sensors.
- You can add your own advertisements and content to the screen.
- Customers will perceive a decrease in wait time if they’re in line or waiting.
If you’re an advertiser:
- We explicitly work with cannabis products.
- Advertisements are targeted, increasing your overall ROI for marketing.
- Results are measurable. Our tracking system allows advertisers to run A/B tests.
The platform is versatile, and can serve more than just retailers. Smoking lounges and social lounges are great places, as cannabis customers linger for longer periods of time, which is perfect for ad placement.
What results have dispensaries seen from this technology?
One of our clients experienced such success with us that she decided to become one of our product ambassadors. She’s seen an average 25% increase of product sales for whatever product she promotes.
Feedback from Rocky Mountain Blaze
RMB customers are experiencing a whole new world of information since our new EYECHRONIC.TV was installed last month.
Feedback from The Marijuana Company
EYECHRONIC Network is a great tool to have in the store. Our customers love to see what’s new and will often just sit in the lobby and watch for a while.
Feedback from Standing Akimbo
Upsides:
- Entertains waiting customers.
- Clock/temp are nice features, although sometimes incorrect.
Downsides
- Doesn’t have ads relevant to the vendors we carry at our shop.
- Repetitive ads
credit:420intel.com