Boingo bringing free Wi-Fi to Wendy's restaurants

Boingo Wireless will manage and operate free Wi-Fi service at select Wendy's restaurants across North America.

"Our partnership with Wendy's is a significant milestone in our ongoing expansion into high-traffic consumer venues," said Peter Hultgren, vice president of business development, Boingo Wireless. "Boingo has more than a decade of experience in enhancing the guest experience via our Wi-Fi, and in increasing customer engagement through collaborative marketing programs."

Boingo said it will operate the complimentary Wi-Fi services, installing and maintaining the networks and providing Wendy's-branded customer support. Boingo will collaborate with The Wendy's Company to deploy a consistent experience throughout the restaurants participating in the program, which include both company and franchise locations located in the United States and Canada.

A day prior to the Wendy's announcement, Boingo disclosed that it will supply Wi-Fi services to Westchester's Ridge Hill, a new open-air mixed-use shopping center in the New York metropolitan area.

Boingo will install, manage and operate free-to-consumer Wi-Fi in the common areas of Westchester's Ridge Hill and will also provide customer support and sponsorship sales. The Wi-Fi services will be available this fall.

"Shoppers will be able to access Boingo Wi-Fi on their smartphones, tablets and other Wi-Fi enabled devices, allowing them to stay connected, share their shopping experience, make reservations at a center restaurant or book tickets at one of Ridge Hill's entertainment venues," said Boingo.

Boingo "is constantly innovating to provide retailers with new ways to increase engagement and reach shoppers with special offers. Boingo's Wi-Fi offerings give us new tools to introduce into our portfolio," said Katherine Welch, senior vice president of retail development for Forest City Ratner Companies, which owns Westchester's Ridge Hill.

A June 2012 study from Deloitte Consulting revealed that smartphones influence 5.1 percent of annual retail store sales, with mobile influence set to quadruple in the next four years, said Boingo. The study also found that smartphone users are 14 percent more likely to make a purchase in-store than non-smartphone users.

Westchester's Ridge Hill is a 1.3 million square foot regional, mixed-use center that is expected to attract more than 6 million visitors this year. Its anchor tenants include Whole Foods, REI and Showcase Cinema De Lux.

With the addition of Westchester's Ridge Hill, Boingo now manages networks at more than 40 shopping destinations with collective annual foot traffic of more than 300 million people. Altogether, Boingo enables access to more than 500,000 hotspots worldwide for retail and wholesale customers.

For more:
- see this Boingo release and this release

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