Recognizing the ever-important retail channel, Amdocs is launching a retail solution designed to help service providers better serve their customers.

The solution is designed for brick and mortar stores but Amdocs recognizes that many consumers start their shopping process online, says Scott Kolman, who runs product marketing for Amdocs’ customer management division.

In a survey of more than 4,000 wireless consumers in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada, more than 60 percent said the reason they visited a store was to purchase a new handset or upgrade an existing device. Yet one in four who visited the store left without making a purchase, he says.

“Whatever the reason, a large percent do go into the retail store,” and that’s where road blocks can prevent them from making a purchase, he says. “We said, ‘let’s create a process-driven interface for the sales rep.'”

At the core is software that sits on a desktop or a mobile device, like a handheld tablet PC that store personnel can carry with them as they walk around a store. The device can be used to show a customer a product or to look up order information or answer support questions. Store personnel could also use it to look up information about an existing customer’s usage habits.

Part of the Amdocs CES portfolio, the solution integrates with both Amdocs and third-party systems involved in store interactions, including customer relationship management (CRM), ordering, billing, service activation, point of sale and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

Amdocs isn’t announcing any customers for the product but is in discussions with carriers about doing market trials. The first release of Amdocs’ product will be focused on company-owned stores as opposed to distributors.