Verizon overhauls store technology in time for holidays

Holiday shoppers have a wide range of new omnichannel solutions available to enhance their customer experience at Verizon retail stores.

The wireless device and services retailer has performed a technology refresh at its over 1,400 brick-and-mortar stores, including nearly 15,000 new mobile POS tablets and more than 4,000 new payment terminals. Verizon says it is transforming its store technology infrastructure to increase the speed of service and flexibility for customers, while providing a unified shopping experience.

Following are highlights of solutions Verizon is deploying in its stores:

• View Together, a seamless, digital-first customer service experience that lets customers review their wireless service plans with Verizon agents and ask questions, online or in-store. It also leads customers to an unassisted post-interaction experience.
• Using a proprietary AI model, Verizon is improving its ability to predict customer service needs across channels, such as the volume of calls into customer care, scheduled installations, and store visits. Verizon intends this to enable optimized staffing decisions.
• Verizon’s newest in-store pick-up lockers are now available for business customers, granting them the ability to use the secure lockers for placing and picking up devices. This enables businesses to order online and pick up same day, including after-hours.
• A “return anywhere” policy gives customers more options for device returns, including advanced return and trade-in capabilities for wireless handsets. This program enables two new return options: dropping off items at a UPS Store location with a QR code, and returning to a Verizon store.
• Set Up & Go, a white glove service that provides Verizon customers with a personalized phone setup experience. Customers have the choice to self-serve or choose the one-time optional $29.99 setup and go experience, where retail store associates will support new device setup tasks that include accessory installation and contact transfers, as well as My Verizon app and premium content transfers.
• Customers can download and use the My Verizon app to see Verizon’s latest offers, check in when they have arrived at one of the retailer’s stores, or schedule an appointment.

“Regardless of where your Verizon shopping journey begins or ends, our technology is focused on empowering customers," said Vivek Gurumurthy, CIO and senior VP, Verizon Global Technology Solutions, Consumer. “We are equipped to serve customers by creating a seamless retail experience that is tailored to you and can be continued as an Omni experience in any other channel of choice.”

NPD: In-store sales have edge over online sales this year
Verizon is making a major effort to tech-enable its stores as more consumers plan to shop in physical stores this holiday season than last year, according to the annual holiday purchase intentions survey from The NPD Group.

This is also the first year since before the pandemic that consumers expect to make more of their holiday purchases in stores (46%) than online (45%). Checkout receipt-based insights from NPD support the new findings, with in-store sales revenue increasing 1% in September compared to last year, while online sales were flat, the company said.