We are back with Volume 2 of our Retail Roundup: The Cisco Store’s Merchandise and Tech Digest!  

From staff picks and our trendy Summer in Paris Collection, to Cisco-sponsored fan favorites and the colorful Hatch Designed line, Volume 2 brings you a curated style guide with something for everyone.  

Fresh off the success of Cisco Live in Las Vegas this past June, the Cisco Store Tech Lab presents the newest innovations in the retail technology space. Take a tour of the Tech Lab, experience the show from a first-time visitor’s point-of-view, and check out how attendees customized their own merchandise using Webex Connect.  

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All past volumes are available on our Cisco Store Tech Lab SharePoint page (note: log in via SSO). 

Be sure to keep up with our upcoming volumes to get your hands on the latest Cisco gear and stay ahead of trends in retail technology. Subscribe to our mailing list at  merchandise.cisco.com.

The Cisco Store Tech Lab is open for customer tours during CXC visits. Account managers can schedule with us today, and customers can reach out to our team to take a tour.

Want to demonstrate your own technology at the Tech Lab? We’re always on the lookout for new partners: reach out today!   

The Cisco Store leverages Cisco and Cisco partner technology to power its retail environment. Most recently, we expanded our usage of Webex Connect to power an engaging customer experience at Cisco Live Americas in Las Vegas this past June.

Webex Connect, an enterprise-grade Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS), enhances shopping experiences by enabling customers to resolve issues swiftly through seamless interactions. With Webex Connect, you can integrate or develop responsive chatbots, crafting a user-friendly and unique shopping experience that simultaneously frees employees to handle more complex inquiries.

At Cisco Live in Las Vegas this past June, the Cisco Store took the unique capabilities of Webex Connect to another level. Customers had the chance to take a piece of the event home with them by personalizing their new Cisco merchandise with Cisco Live patches.

The customization process was quick, easy, and accessible from attendees’ mobile phones. By scanning a QR code, attendees could initiate a conversation using Apple Messages for Business or Google Business Messages to choose their Cisco merchandise and indicate exactly which patch(es) they wanted and where they wanted them placed. Shoppers would then receive their order numbers and an estimated wait time via text after they dropped off their items at the Patching Station.

On the back end, the Patching Station staff would immediately receive the order details via Webex Connect and could mark order statuses and update wait times. Shoppers could even watch their orders being created at the station! Once their items were finished, shoppers would receive a text alert for pick-up.

By building this seamless customer journey with Webex Connect, attendees were able to experience forward-thinking retail technology in action and receive a keepsake to commemorate their time at Cisco Live. The Cisco Store strives to create these unique moments for customers to demonstrate the power of Cisco’s technology integrations in retail.

Curious to see the Patching Station in action? Check it out on the Cisco Store Tech Lab YouTube channel now!

Interested in demonstrating your technology? Please reach out to set up an activation with us!

If you would like to bring your customers through the Cisco Store Tech Lab as a stop on your CXC Tour, you can also schedule your visit now – we’ll have the Tech Lab personalized just for you!

You can also learn more about Webex Connect via the retail solutions page or by connecting with an expert now.

The Cisco Store at Cisco Live was grander than ever this year – we're talking a giant leap to 7,500 square feet of eye-catching technology and merchandise. A real crowd magnet, the store hosted over half of the 23,000 attendees at the whole show. 519 lucky people snagged a spot on one of our 26 Cisco Store Tech Lab tours to learn how we power a real retail environment with Cisco and partner technology. Plus, retail proved to be very much alive and well: merchandise sales were up 34% from last year, showing that the love for the Cisco brand is stronger than ever.

The technology stack behind our Cisco Live Amsterdam store went on a global adventure, landing in Las Vegas to energize the Cisco Store there. We ran the whole show on a full Meraki stack, featuring the latest gear like the MS130 switches, access points, nifty sensors, handy buttons, and even power monitoring sensors. Plus, we teamed up again with some stellar partners like EVERYANGLE, VusionGroup, CAE Labs, Wipro VisionEDGE, Webex Connect, and more to amp up the experience. 

Visitors were especially wowed by VusionGroup’s Captana, which alerts staff when items are out of stock as well as checks for merchandise planogram compliance.  

EVERYANGLE also turned heads with its in-store conversion rate generation for our brick-and-mortar spaces. Attendees got the inside scoop by touring with the pros who run the Cisco Store, getting a firsthand look at how we make retail magic happen.

Like Amsterdam, we also deployed 15 Meraki MT40 smart power controllers throughout the store to baseline our power consumption during the show with the help of CAE Labs’ WiserWatts platform. We plan to schedule our power at both of next year’s shows to compare our energy and cost savings: after baselining and scheduling power at our San Jose store, we have reduced our energy consumption by 66%, helping us fulfill our core principle of sustainability.

Can’t wait to see it for yourself? Check out our Cisco Store Tech Lab Tour video to dive into the action from wherever you are!

Along the way, tour attendees could experience how the Cisco Store powers an inclusive future for all: our donation tower was once again set up at the entrance of the store. Every token dropped into the tower represented a $1 donation to organizations such as Green Our Planet, Wine to Water, and Replate, totaling up to $1,207 by the end of the show.  

The Cisco Store unveiled an array of new merchandise, thoughtfully crafted by Cisco’s internal creative agency, The Hatch, presenting the brand in an innovative and sophisticated manner. In light of the robust partnership between Cisco and McLaren, and with the notable presence of McLaren CEO Zak Brown and racing driver Oscar Piastri participating in the keynote Q&A, the store introduced a new line of Cisco | McLaren products. These items, aligning with the partnership’s prominence in the Cisco Showcase, were met with overwhelming demand (nearly selling out), underscoring the partnership’s resonance with not only Cisco but also with our customers and partners.  

Following the fervor of the first day’s keynote, the Cisco Store launched a limited-edition Cisco | McLaren hoodie, which was met with such enthusiasm that it sold out on the same day. 

Concurrently, AI was a prevalent theme at the event, with Cisco’s AI hub being a focal point on the show floor and the campaign video being featured prominently in the keynote. To complement this, the Cisco Store introduced merchandise that allowed attendees to own a piece of Cisco’s new AI campaign featuring the campaign artwork.  

Furthermore, the acquisition of Splunk, a significant topic of discussion and a notable presence at Cisco Live, marked one of the largest transactions in the technology sector’s history. To commemorate this milestone, the Cisco Store offered exclusive merchandise as part of the “It’s a new day” campaign, allowing attendees to celebrate this pivotal moment alongside Cisco.  

In addition, the Cisco Store offered an exclusive opportunity for attendees to personalize their Cisco apparel with unique Cisco Live patches. This bespoke experience was facilitated by the innovative use of Webex Connect, which streamlined the customization process. Attendees were invited to scan a QR code, which prompted them to select their preferred item for personalization and their desired patch and specify its placement. This allowed for a seamless drop-off experience, with real-time notifications updating them on the progress of their garment’s construction and alerting them when their item was ready for collection. This personalized touch enhanced the attendee experience and showcased Cisco’s technology integration in creating a memorable retail interaction. You can witness The Patch Station in action on the Cisco Store Tech Lab YouTube channel!

The Cisco Store set up a video feedback station called Fanvoice in a Box, powered by our technology partner Fanvoice, allowing store visitors to leave valuable merchandise and technology feedback for our team.  

Our visitors particularly loved being able to see real-world applications of technology that promise to drive the future of retail forward. And some merchandise requests? More McLaren gear.  

Interested in demonstrating your technology? Please reach out to set up an activation with us!

If you would like to bring your customers through the Cisco Store Tech Lab as a stop on your CXC Tour, you can also schedule your visit now – we'll have the Tech Lab personalized just for you!  

Five months after the launch of Webex Connect in August 2023, the enterprise-grade Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) has continued to enhance how businesses engage with their customers. With its ability to handle customer communications over multiple digital channels, its variety of integration options, and quick agent escalation, Webex Connect has become an efficient solution that is relied upon by the Cisco Store.  

455 total chatbot sessions occurred at the Cisco Store in the first quarter of FY24, but that number jumped to 599 in the second quarter, an almost 32% increase. The number of sessions handled by the bot also increased from 193 in the first quarter to 288 in the second quarter, while the number of total agent handovers increased from 262 to 311. This means that not only were more people interacting with the chatbot, but the bot was able to handle 49% more sessions while still giving customers the opportunity to speak to live agents as they saw fit, all while retaining the conversation context. Webex Connect’s easy interface makes it convenient for a small staff to continuously improve the bot’s responses and speak directly with customers whenever needed.

Customers can select their preferred channels to interact with the chatbot. Over Q2, 97% of the bot’s sessions occurred on the web. The online vs. in-person patterns of shoppers stayed consistent from Q1, as was seen by the almost 59% increase in online interactions. There was a marked decrease in in-person interactions, presumably due to the holiday season that dominated Q2.  

In-person store visitors throughout Q2 generally asked the chatbot questions regarding customer tours, engagement with a live agent, order tracking, women’s apparel, and men’s apparel. Online store visitors asked questions around order tracking, gift vouchers, and customer support. Placing orders and receiving assistance has never been easier using Webex Connect, and customers can get their order questions easily answered through a couple of quick interactions rather than having to drive to an in-store location.  

Check back next quarter to see how Webex Connect performed in Q3!  

Join us as we dive deeper into Cisco and Cisco Partner technology deployed at the Cisco Store! We asked Jeremy Martin (Sales Leader, Americas, Webex CPaaS Solutions) to discuss Webex Connect and how it is used in the Cisco Store and the larger retail industry. 

Jeremy leads sales in North and South America for the Webex cloud communications platform (CPaaS) solution. He has more than two decades of experience helping clients and partners create and grow innovative omni-channel digital engagement between brands and consumers. With several leadership roles over the years, Jeremy has deep mobile industry expertise that’s been leveraged across many vertical markets including retail, healthcare, pharmacy, telecom, hospitality, utilities and transportation. 

Webex Connect is an enterprise-grade Communication Platform as a Service (CPaaS) for orchestrating and automating end-to-end customer journeys in a single, cloud-based solution. 

Our CPaaS solution revolutionizes customer experiences by streamlining processes such as order status notifications, refunds, and returns inquiries. Customers are empowered to self-serve, effortlessly modifying orders or updating delivery information through the seamless integration of AI-driven chatbots.  

With Apple and Google owning the lion’s share of mobile operating systems (including the default messaging apps as well as maps applications that power local search), consumers are increasingly seeking and initiating conversations with brands through non-traditional channels (Apple Messages for Business, Google Business Messages). Webex Connect provides rich, integrated customer engagement, helping to drive navigation to stores, answer questions on hours and inventory, and reach retail associates to answer more complicated questions.  

Plus, Webex Connect integrates into existing backend systems, allowing retailers to harness valuable customer data for creating personalized shopping experiences across various channels.

Retailers these days are competing on customer experience (CX), so the ability to deliver distinctive experiences is essential. And with the automation Webex Connect enables, employees’ time is freed up to focus on more important tasks. 

Webex Connect plays a pivotal role in enhancing operational efficiency for the Cisco Store. Leveraging this platform, the team has successfully programmed contextual prompts and implemented a responsive chatbot to address simple customer queries round-the-clock. As an enterprise-grade CPaaS solution, Webex Connect is accessible to everyone: developers and businesses alike can create end-to-end customer journeys within the platform. Its user-friendly features, such as low-code tools and drag-and-drop flow builders, foster a collaborative environment across the entire business.  

We anticipate businesses leveraging CPaaS not only to adopt the latest communication channels, but also to craft synchronized customer journeys at every touchpoint. Think: experiences where every interaction works together to build a cohesive, multi-channel journey.

AI is also here to stay. As organizations invest in data, machine learning, and AI capabilities, they gain the tools to understand customers at a granular level; Webex Connect provides out-of-the-box AI capabilities as well as seamless integration with retailers’ existing AI platforms and investments. And with CPaaS, AI stands to make automated, self-serve interactions better, faster, and more cost-effective.  

Convenience is expected to remain a top priority for customers in the future. A seamless fusion of online and offline shopping experiences, like buy online and pick up in-store (BOPIS), is also likely to be a focal point. Customers will begin to expect proactive outreach rather than initiating reactive support – they want brands to anticipate their needs before they even know of them themselves. 

Currently, 75% of connected customers prefer to interact with retail brands using digital messaging channels – and that’s only expected to increase. So, to be consistent with consumer preferences, brands will continue to prioritize digital-first, personalized communications, which will become more integrated and more sophisticated by improving how customer data and touchpoints are leveraged. We anticipate they’ll also have a major focus on automation to boost efficiency and reduce costs. 
 
Interested in learning more about Webex Connect? Visit our retail solutions page or get in touch with one of our experts.