A Beautifully Refreshing perspective about iBeacons in retail industry

The mobile technology is advancing to a new level day-after-day making sure the future is secure in our hands every day. Along with mobile technology, the Internet of Things (IoT) is wrapping almost everything with its advanced functionalities. The momentum has never gone down since Apple Inc. launched its beacon device called as “iBeacons,” a software protocol that transmits messages to the nearby Bluetooth enabled devices with the help of a tiny device called as beacons.

What is an iBeacon?

As said earlier, iBeacon is a software protocol that handles and transfers packets available in a small device called as a beacon. It uses a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) signal to transmit messages to the available Bluetooth-enabled iPhones and iPads. iOS 7 and more supports iBeacon signals and acts as a host to send and receive messages.

To know more about iBeacon, read our previous article on iBeacon – A device that helps nearby people with required information

The Numbers – iBeacon’s achievements in retail industry so far:

A couple of years back when Apple Inc. launched its first beacon protocol, called as iBeacons and it was in a no-clue state of the reach and popularity. Now, the beacon technology is doing miracles in almost every single industry. Here are some of the researched stats that show the real popularity of iBeacons in this connected world.

• In the past one year, nearly 72% people received shopping-related beacon triggered notifications.
• In that 72%, almost 91% of the people said that they open or read it regularly.
• 87% of the people in the read list have purchased at least once with the help of the notifications.
• For the enough value of money in return, 79% of the people are willing to share their location based information.
• The retailer’s mobile app is almost used by 80% of the people when they are in-store.

Let the fear out – iBeacons are safe:

iBeacons are now becoming the best marketing tool for almost every industry especially the retail market. But, the best has the worst side too. It has its limitations and also, threaten little privacy which the marketers need to address.

1. Spam – only related messages:
   Most of the customers or general audience think the iBeacons transfer unwanted spam messages. The real fact is they act just as a trigger and cannot directly deliver the message. Moreover, the user downloaded retailer app only provides the notification. Beacons can only work with the application that has been designed to work with.
2. No Hassel – easy to install in the existing system:
   It is very easy to integrate the iBeacon protocol into an existing system i.e. applications that run on mobile platforms. For the businesses that don’t have a mobile app, it is easy to use iBeacons with the help of Apple’s Passbook.
3. No Worries – will not track exact movements:
   There is nothing to worry as the beacons can only track users proximity i.e. it can only identify how far is the user from the device and not the exact location of the user’s presence. And in the indoor navigation system, the navigation guidance is given with the help of the distance between the beacons installed in the shop and not the location specifications.
4. No Leak – safe to use and share information:
   iBeacons has nothing to do with the user related information. The information that user shares with the mobile app that he/she installed is only available in the database, that too only on the apps database and not in the iBeacons database.
5. No Android – has no restrictions:
   iBeacon devices work on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology and can be accessed from any Bluetooth enable devices that run on any mobile platform like Android, Blackberry, Windows Phone, etc. Even Mac OS X, Windows, Linux devices that have Bluetooth 4.0 can access this facility.

What are the recent happenings and what is the future of iBeacons in retail?

iBeacons have opened up many possibilities creating a special way to enhance the future. Here are some of the most significant happening that is sure to hit the retail industry by a storm.

• iBeacons are sure to be used by retail industry for Big data.
• iBeacons are being integrated with LED bulbs to cut short cost.
• iBeacons are used in almost every Apple stores in the United States of America.
• iBeacons are in the mode to track people’s approximate location to help save them if they are in any critical or danger situation.

Pete Coleman said, “Point Inside partners with Top 100 retailers to enhance the way they communicate and engage with their shoppers – who overwhelmingly prefer to complete their purchases in physical stores.” The future of iBeacons looks bright and broad.

Author-bio: K2B Solutions, the top-notch web design company in India, have expertise in PHP, Android, iOS, eCommerce, WordPress and more technologies. We have a very good expert team of qualified professionals who provide customized and quality web and mobile app services to our global clients.