By Rory Griffin (Marketing & Business Development Assistant at Visualise)
What is the one thing we carry with us continuously throughout the day? When we sleep, its within arm’s reach and when we wake up, it’s the first thing we check… Yes it’s our smartphone.
The internet is awash with facts and figures demonstrating the continuous rise in shoppers using their smartphones, be it looking for reviews on certain products or price comparisons. I would say most of us have at some stage during the path to purchase for a product or service seeked some reassurance or guidance through the medium of our smartphone. Based on this premise it is not surprising that nearly a quarter of all online activity is through mobile devices. Mobile devices are changing the way we communicate, with many people depending on their smartphone as their soul source of telecommunication as well as connecting via social media and email. Based on this ‘new aged’ technology, mobile marketing is changing drastically. This is growing in importance through the embracement of social media and the digital movement. People are looking for retailers to go that extra mile, to reach out and relate. According to research commissioned by Google, 84% of smartphone shoppers use their mobile devices to help them shop while in a physical retail store, with almost half of them engaging with their device for at least 15 minutes per store visit. This study alone has to get retailers and brands alike to think, what can we do to turn this interaction into increased sales or shopper engagement.
Today shoppers are doing nearly all the work in seeking out digital content to supplement their shopping experience, be it looking at third party sites and apps in the search of advice, product reviews, offers and or price comparisons. Apple claim that thanks to iBeacon technology this is about to change.
To discuss iBeacons and their possible impact within the retail industry it is important that we understand what they actually are and what they can do.
iBeacons or Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is in principle the next generation of targeted positioning systems. They are essentially a beacon that transmits a signal to a Bluetooth Smart Ready (BSR) device up to 50 meters away. Typically the receiver is a smartphone or tablet. The beacons signal is detected by an app on the users mobile device and triggers a reaction from the end user. Have a look at the promotional video from a beacon provider below which best demonstrates how the iBeacon works in the retail environment.
The beauty of iBeacons is that they are created with the ethos to bridge the gap that currently exists between the offline and online world. Based on shoppers downloading relevant apps, retailers can provide updates and other information to shoppers entering the store around their specific needs and wants. This new capability also allows retailers to understand the precise location of a shopper within a store, enabling the retailer to provide relevant messages and offers at the exact time and place that they are most useful and desired by the shopper. Apple claim that iBeacon provides apps with, “a whole new level of micro-location awareness, such as trail markers in a park, exhibits in a museum, or product displays in stores.” This type of application enables the retailers and brands alike the opportunity to relate and reach out to their targeted shoppers.
Shopkick the shopping app rolled out their ShopBeacon (iBeacon technology) in November 2013 at Macy’s Herald Square, New York and Union Square, San Francisco. American Eagle will also deploy ShopBeacon technology in 100 of its top performing stores throughout 2014, with the goal being to increase their shopper relating capability.
These beacons can welcome a shopper when they enter the store and show him or her any location-specific deals, discounts, recommendations, and rewards, without them having to remember to open the app. It can also tie at-home browsing to in-store benefit, if the shopper “likes” a specific product in the app, ShopBeacon can remind him or her upon entering the store that sells it. It can also deliver department-specific offers throughout the store, so the shoes he or she liked show up at the most useful time – in the Shoe department. iBeacon technology can also be used to enhance retailers rewards systems. For example, Shopkicks app integrates their ‘Kick’ reward program within partnered retailers throughout the US. Check out the below video which shows Shopkick in action.
It is true to say, that over time we have seen many location based technologies within the retail environment. Most of these left something to be desired or lacked that extra step to really enhance the retailer and shopper relationship. Many experts claim that iBeacon differs to and will outgrow these pre-existing proximity marketing tools. It is hard to argue when you look deeper into some of the facts and figures such as;
It’s already here – With over 400 million iOS devices activated worldwide, that have this technology already pre loaded.
It’s not just for Apple devices – Many people are under the impression that only iOS devices can work with iBecons. However this is not the case with such apps as iBeacon locate on the android market, looking to address this issue.
Competitors compatibility problems – With other location based services such as Near Frequency Communication (NFC) only being compatible with new android smartphones, they have failed to integrate with the wider market.
iPhone/iPad is a beacon – It is a seamless process to turn these devices into beacons, so where retailers have already invested in in-store iPads for digital signage or in-store POS they now have the possibility of leveraging these as in-store beacons.
Bridge the online offline gap – Many claim that iBeacons can be the integrated tool between both online and offline that will ultimately and seamlessly bridge the gap that currently exists between the two.
It is safe to say however, that like most technological developments iBeacon is not without its issues. The general consensus is that there are two prominent concerns arising from such technology that implements push notifications. The first being, are shoppers likely to open these messages on their smartphones while shopping? The research in the area, states there is one conclusive answer.. yes! It seems that shoppers are for in-store mobile alerts. ResearchNow suggest that from their study of 1,000 smartphone users, “67% reported that they have received shopping-related push notifications on their smartphones in the past six months. Of those, 81% claimed to have opened and read these alerts and 79% have made a purchase as a result.”
The second major concern is privacy. Will shoppers share their location with retailers? The consensus is again yes! However to overcome both of these concerns the retailer/brand must ensure that the content being pushed is both relevant or valuable to the end user, and that in-store signage reminds shoppers to have their bluetooth enabled to receive such location based messages. Not alone will the in-store signage be a reminder but should aid in easing concerns some shoppers might have over accepting push notifications and opting into sharing their location, as studies suggest that 65% of shoppers trust their favorite retailer through data sharing.
In conclusion, right now the biggest barrier to iBeacons is for users to activate Bluetooth on their devices and to download the necessary app and provide access to their location through said app. However in order to overcome this barrier it is imperative that retailers implement accurate in-store signage and awareness on the path to purchase, along with providing relevant content and deals through their application. This approach, will ultimately encourage shoppers to pro-actively seek such an application.
Therefore it can be said that iBeacons success will all come down to retailers working out a clear strategy about how they are going to integrate iBeacons into their seamless omni-channel experience, while ensuring that the content and contact strategy is well thought through before simply sticking up some beacons and pushing vouchers or messages.
It is still true to say that now is only the beginning of Apples iBeacon, but with a deeper integration with IOS ecosystem it will be a force to reckon with in the near future. With the time and location context that iBeacon technology provides, retailers can transform their mobile apps into indispensible in-store shopping companions that deliver incredibly relevant and timely digital content. iBeacons are certainly on the one to watch list for 2014. 
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