ProLabs’ 1G and 10G Transceivers Aid Essential Retailers in Maintaining Suitable In-Store Networks

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing a mandatory lockdown for millions of people worldwide, many have been hesitant to revert to traditional shopping behaviors. Large retailers and grocers like Target, Walmart, and Ralph’s who sell essential goods have acquired new shopping etiquette to ensure the safety of their customers and employees. This includes mandatory face coverings to be worn at all times in the store, maintain physical distancing, rigorous cleaning procedures and implementing plexiglass at kiosks throughout stores.

As retailers encourage these new safety behaviors, they still want to ensure their customers are having an optimal shopping experience. To guarantee this experience, stores have been:

Adding more self check-out kiosks to decrease person-to-person contact
Increasing their WiFi bandwidth to support both associate and guest mobile use
Ensuring reliance on real-time data from cloud-based systems for employees to check inventory and price information for their customers

These provisions help customers have a tip-top brick-and-mortar experience while supporting safe shopping habits. This is a trend that may change the retail world forever. That said, how will retailers compete for the best in-store networks to win over customers?

The most frequent in-store network investments have been LAN upgrades:

To current copper infrastructure:

1G and 10G copper transceivers – Leverage existing Cat5e or Cat6A cabling infrastructure.
Media converters – Extend in-store coverage without installing new cabling.

To diminish network bottlenecks:

1G and 10G LAN upgrades - Fiber transceivers.
Memory upgrades to drive performance from key servers, switches, and routers.