One often overlooked moment during a customer’s store visit might be just the opportunity retailers can use to drive loyalty and sales: connecting to a business' Wi-Fi. 

When a consumer takes advantage of a location's hotspot, store owners can compliment the amenity with valuable messaging that extends its value. AT&T Business is one service making it possible for retailers and other businesses to serve relevant ads to customers when they connect to free Wi-Fi.

Wi-Fi as a marketing channel

Wi-Fi is a common service at many stores, and customers increasingly expect it for free, according to Greg Schwarzendruber, director of strategy and innovation, consumer personalization and experience, at AT&T Business.

Retailers, restaurants, or any physical location can turn free Wi-Fi into a marketing channel with AT&T Business’s card carousel, which preloads a string of relevant ads synced with the customer’s journey. When a customer signs up for the free Wi-Fi and agrees to the privacy terms, or signs in during a later visit, the retailer has ads ready that the customer can engage with or ignore.

“You can deliver relevant information, or they can pass by it, or they can click on it,” said Schwarzendruber. “It’s this unique moment where you have the full attention of the customer, they’ve pulled out their phone, and are trying to figure out what to do next.”

Schwarzendruber said those who use AT&T Business’s ad tool have wide latitude in the ads they serve to different customer cohorts. For instance, they could drive customers who haven’t signed up for loyalty programs to subscribe to them. 

“Customers engage with you to find out how they use the free Wi-Fi you’re providing,” said Schwarzendruber. “And it’s an opportunity where you can message them at a moment that they’ve decided they want to be messaged.”

Seeking Wi-Fi at events and retail locations

Using Wi-Fi as a marketing channel has its roots at large concert and sports venues, and in the scramble for retailers to identify customers following the deprecation of third-party cookies, according to Schwarzendruber.

Arenas and stadiums used free Wi-Fi as an opportunity to engage visitors about the event they were attending. While customers could learn about event details like concessions and merchandise, the host venue could learn more about attendees. 

As the deprecation of third-party cookies made it more difficult for retailers to engage customers seamlessly across channels, free Wi-Fi became a valuable opportunity for retailers to learn more about customers, and for customers to receive information relevant to their shopping journey.

Retail media opportunities

Shoppers' expectation of free Wi-Fi and willingness to sign up for it make the service a valuable tool in a retail media network (RMN) strategy. 

“Most of the time when I talk to retailers, all of them have guest Wi-Fi networks,” said Schwarzendruber. “So it's less about setting up a new system. You [the retailer] have already paid for guest Wi-Fi. All we’re saying is, in the same amount of steps, why not make it work better for you to return better information?”

On average, 85% of customers accept the free Wi-Fi policy, either by checking a box or by leaving a box checked, according to Schwarzendruber.

“An RMN can monetize two separate brands at the same time because they’re being more specific about what ads they provide and who they provide it for," said Schwarzendruber.

Travel and beyond

This expectation for free Wi-Fi service doesn’t rule out the opportunity for a value exchange, either for customer data or for serving customers ads, according to Schwarzendruber.

“You can leverage all that super-rich, first-party data, and the commerce media network  has to drive really relevant ads that are highly engaged with by people that view it,” said Schwarzendruber.

During the 2025 holiday season, Fossil launched a travel media campaign that included in-flight Wi-Fi on JetBlue and American Airlines, according to EMARKETER.

And businesses shouldn't underestimate how this value exchange can lift consumer retention.

Across retailers and other businesses that AT&T Business supports with guest Wi-Fi ads, the loyalty acquisition rate averages 14%, per Schwarzendruber.And 3% on average will download a mobile app when prompted to do that.