T-Mobile supports retail enterprise with 5G technology

T-Mobile is focusing on enabling data-driven decisions that make life easier for both employees and customers.

At the NRF 2024: Retail’s Big Show conference in New York City, George Fischer, senior VP of sales, T-Mobile Business Group, sat down with Chain Store Age to discuss how the company’s native 5G network can enable retailers to streamline operations.

Fischer explained how T-Mobile offers 5G-based solutions in the areas of Internet of Things (IoT – such as video, location-finding and security), as well as in virtual machines (such as AI-based data analysis and sorting).

“T-Mobile improves customer experience and employee retention,” said Fischer. “We let retailers make good, data-driven decisions across multiple tasks. Retailers can order tasks in their workflow. It empowers workers to do their job and serve customers.”

In addition, Fischer said 5G can support a varied device mix and enable retailers to effectively run pop-up stores, as well as deploy cloud architecture models such as secure access service edge (SASE), which delivers cloud-native and network security solutions in one cloud-based bundle.

Fischer also touched on how T-Mobile is building an artificial intelligence (AI) network.

“We’re barely scratching the surface of what we can do with AI,” he said. “The sky’s the limit for next-generation best practices in areas like the contact center.”

Tractor Supply Company deploys 5G networking

In an NRF expo session, “The 5G era of retail: Improved shopping experiences fueled by smart store capabilities,” Roopi Crowley, managing director of retail strategic accounts for T-Mobile and Al Lettera, senior VP of IT for Tractor Supply Company, discussed how the nation’s largest rural lifestyle retailer utilizes its in-store 5G network from T-Mobile to capture and activate data which supports activities such as inventory management, trend forecasting, and operational optimization.

“We want to deploy more employee tools and customer tools,” said Lettera. “Having a mobile strategy is critical in a rural marketplace. We have to meet the customer where they are, buying heavy things. We have a new understanding of what the customer needs and new ways to communicate efficiently.”

Crowley discussed how T-Mobile technology helps Tractor Supply Company improve both the customer and employee experience.

“Tractor Supply Company can communicate out-of-stocks to the customer,” said Crowley. “Higher levels of customer service make the managers happier, which leads to higher employee retention. Employees are used to our toolkit, which streamlines the deployment of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions.”

Crowley also discussed how T-Mobile 5G networking helps support the retailer’s GURA (greet, uncover, recommend, ask) in-store customer service strategy.

“Tractor Supply Company developed generative AI capability in-house to let store associates have access to expertise in areas like product information,” said Crowley. “They talk into a headpiece to interact with the system. It will let the company carry less stock in stores as customers will be able to shop online in-store via the associates.”

The retailer is currently testing this solution with plans for eventual chain-wide rollout. Tractor Supply is also in the early stages of deploying a mobile-accessible employee platform it calls “TSCMe,” which Lettera described as an intuitive employee portal.

“We use TSCMe to leverage information on workplace trends to create a better employee experience,” Lettera said. In addition, Tractor Supply Company utilizes computer vision to digitize store information and collect it for analysis.