Mobile Beacon Technology Has the Potential to Revolutionize Retail Industry
There are many debates in the retail industry about the use of mobile beacon technology. How it will bridge the gap between brick-and-mortar sales and mobile technology. Before we get into details, let’s first give you a brief overview of beacons and their workings. Beacons are low-powered radio transmitters using Bluetooth technology to track the location of smartphones and tablets. If a mobile device is within close proximity to a beacon, and the retailer’s app is enabled on the device, push notifications can be sent that send out special offers and other useful content directly from the beacon.
This is why so many retailers are interested in this technology. In January 2014, for example, Safeway, a popular grocery store, sought the services of iBeacons, a mobile beacon technology provider. They deployed their Bluetooth LE beacons in over 200 stores. This campaign aims to reach consumers they know well and who are near or walking in to a store to improve the effectiveness of messaging.
Sephora Launched a Mobile Beacon Trial
Sephora, a French cosmetics brand, launched a mobile beacon trial in their San Francisco store a few weeks back. They found that 82 per cent of customers signed up to receive messages. Swirl’s survey found that 65 percent of the 1000 smartphone owners surveyed would prefer to receive information about promotions from their phone than speak with a sales representative. A further 79 percent of those who opened or read push notifications about shopping made a purchase. The cosmetic brand has invested in mobile beacon technology to allow customers to personalize their shopping experience by allowing primary information to be sourced from their trusted source, their smartphone. The customer service representatives are a bountiful source of additional knowledge to support purchasing decisions.
Target can take your mobile experience to the next level by enhancing it
Target partnered with Point Inside science care before the 2014 holiday season to create detailed in-store maps for their mobile app. This was to assist customers as they navigated the aisles. You can add a powerbank to your shopping cart to allow you to search for the product at a Target near you if you have the app installed on your phone. This is where beacon technology can take the already excellent mobile experience to the next level. Imagine a scenario where you go into a store and want to be notified by push that the item you have added to your cart is still available. It could also indicate that it can be found on the third floor. A mobile beacon can relay information on compatible devices or offer you promotional offers for similar products or categories once the power bank is located.
