The UK based coffee shop, Coffee Republic has announced today that from the beginning of next month - it will scrap charges for using it's Wi-Fi service - so long as you buy something from them first.
Steven Bartlett, Chief Executive Officer, Coffee Republic said: “Until recently, customers have had little choice but to pay by the month or hour to access the Internet on the move. We believe our easy and convenient free service will be well received by customers.”
The company says that by using the new service at Coffee Republic, which is linked to a purchase, customers who use Wi-Fi for an hour a week could be saving themselves up to £234 a year.
The free service, delivered by Commsport, follows trials that took place in several of Coffee Republic’s Bars over the last few months. Ian McKelvie, IT Manager, Coffee Republic states: “Two of the Bars in particular which trialled the service, Reading and Weybridge, had a noticeable increase in footfall, which encouraged us to take the decision to roll-out free Wi-Fi in other outlets.”
The service will also provide advertising opportunities for businesses that are looking to reach their target audience whilst online. The Wi-Fi landing page will offer space to advertisers to promote their brands.
Once customers have made their purchase, they will be offered a free Wi-Fi voucher that will provide them with the login code to access the Coffee Republic hotspot from their Wi-Fi enabled laptop, mobile phone or PDA. The voucher method should help prevent the problem of non-customers leaching access for free from outside the coffee shops.
Coffee Republic was founded in 1995, and now operates over 100 Delis and Concessions across the UK.
Posted to the site on 14th April 2008
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/30505.php