The impact of ibeacon Technology on Retail Experiences and Revenue

Even when the world didn’t even have the internet, if you look at the concept of marketing, the most basic definition of marketing was to provide the right product at the right time to the right people. While it was all intuitive and suggestive in the past, with the help of BLE technology, marketers are now using the technology along with a mobile application to do just that and revolutionize the experience of their store visitors.

The technology is known as iBeacon technology that uses wireless transmitters to send and receive information to smart devices. To give a simple example, you can create a radius and when someone with the right application comes in that range, the iBeacon Technology can be used to provide and receive information with the user. With their geo-location capabilities, beacons have become an integral part of the retail industry that is used to generate more sales and to make the overall experience of the customers delightful.

The key point of employing the technology is to deliver personalized services to your customers. When it comes to BLE, the devices are used to inform, attract, engage and convert customers. To help you understand how iBeacons can change your entire retail experience and help you optimize your revenues, we have created a list of functionalities and benefits of iBeacons for the retail industry.

Functionalities and advantages of iBeacon Technology for the Retail Industry:

Understand user Behaviour with beacons:

As discussed earlier, iBeacons can also be used to receive information along with sending it. Thus, with the help of location tracking, beacons can be used to understand the behavior of users while they are in the store. The beacons can tell you so much about your store layout, in-store heat areas and user behavior while shopping.

For instance, iBeacons can be used to study the time customers spend at a certain section of the store and it can also be used to study their activity while they are in the store. Apart from that, you can also identify the areas where customers are spending the most time and determine hotspot zones to optimize the store layout. This will help store owners make informed decisions regarding how to improve the store layout for optimized sales and the heat map can also be used to get more commission from elite brands who need premium space in the store for display.

Personalized push notification:

What if you could reach your customer with products exactly when they are looking for them? Or, you could just remind them of their grocery list right when they are passing by your store? That is what Beacons can do for you! When you have your customers installed your application that interacts with beacons, you can create a geo-fence around your store location and send personalized notifications when your customers are in your area.

There are many interesting ways customers can be provided with personalized push notifications using BLE. For instance, your mobile app can have a reminder feature where your customers can be reminded of their pending list when they are nearby your store. Apart from that, you can also send generalized messages regarding new arrivals or just a prompt CTA for them to visit the store since they are in the vicinity. This way, not only can you get increased footfall, but you can also create an amazing way to create a brand recall and gain some loyal customers.

Personalized guide:

Wouldn’t it be convenient if you could have one attendant for every visitor that comes to your store? BLE can be a guide to which your customers can ask anything about products, pricing, promotions or just about general store information. BLE has both short-range and long-range. The beacons can be used to provide information regarding the section that your customers are visiting and they can also provide information about products that your customers are looking at.

The customers can directly ask for certain products and categories or Beacons can prompt them to explore certain sections based on their activity. This function will not only provide seamless experiences to the customers, but it will also provide a boost in sales as it prompts users to explore certain sections of the store that are personalized based on their visits.

Marketing facilitator:

Technology is mostly used for marketing and branding purposes in this digital era. With marketers taking new approaches to keeping their brand on top of the minds of their minds, BLE is redefining how brands can create an effective brand recall. As discussed earlier, stores can set up a parameter both indoors as well as outdoors and when the users are in proximity, BLE can be used to send push notifications and alerts to the customers. Thus, when the customers are in your vicinity, stores can push notifications and sales copies to prompt users to visit the store with catchy promotions, back-in-stock copies or just clever ways to keep the users aware of the presence.

Store navigation:

While this might not appeal to small stores and convenience stores, but for big department stores and retail chains with huge space, there would be problems for customers to find the right product and category. One of the best features of BLE is its accurate location tracking capabilities especially indoors. Thus, with the help of BLE, customers can easily track sections of the store with the help of an in-store map in the application. Apart from that, with the advent of the pandemic, there also is a need to keep a track of visitor activity and advise them about social distancing. This also can be facilitated with the help of BLE. Not only can users be notified when they are not within the acceptable distance, but they can also be informed about the various in-store precautions and certain pick-up points located in the store to help them avoid contact with the store personnel.

Targeted Marketing and promotions:

What is the underlying goal of every marketing campaign? It is sales, business development and lead conversion. While the branding campaigns are for long-term brand building and brand establishment, it all boils down to the numbers. With the help of BLE, there are many different ways stores can increase sales and communicate about the marketing promotions with their customers. For instance, marketers can send promotional offers available in the store when their customers are in the vicinity with the help of outdoor geo-fence of the BLE technology. Same can also be done in-store by informing about the discounts available in the section or brand display that they are visiting.

Now that you understand the role of BLE in the retail industry, how can you integrate this? There are three things you need:

3 essential things to integrate BLE technology in your retail store:

• BLE Development service provider:

You might be thinking about how a development services provider can be the first thing you need for BLE technology? But, if you want to make informed decisions and wish to make the best possible use of BLE, you must have a BLE development service provider. With an ideal technology partner, not only can you get the best BLE application, but you can also hire their consultancy services to understand how you can personalize BLE and which the best Beacons are for the same. They with the help of their technical skills and business understanding can also help you strategize the application and help you with ideal BLE placements for maximum coverage.

• BLE devices:

Second, you need BLE devices that can align with your requirements. Plan your in-store and proximity range carefully. Based on the areas to be covered, you can choose the number of BLE devices that you would need and also determine their configuration range.

• Personalized BLE Application:

Based on your business and marketing goals, you would need a BLE application that aligns with them. Create a personalized BLE application that not only has all the desired functionalities, you can also scale and update the application based on your market requirements and customers’ expectations.

Redefine retail experiences with BLE technology:

In this competitive market of retail, customer experience is the key to gain a competitive edge in the market. With the help of Beacon technology canada, one can completely redefine the way a customer shops in a retail store and give them a personalized and delightful customer experience while subtly incorporating marketing agendas and organically increasing sales.

Author Details

Name – Pranjal Mehta

Bio – Pranjal Mehta is a technology strategist and the Founder and Managing Director of Zealous System, which provides innovative and cutting-edge technology models and services to businesses. He has a fierce passion for technology, which is why he is deeply committed to delivering solutions to the key problems faced by Startups as well as Enterprises.

Website Link – www.zealousys.com