iBeacon technology introduction (retail)

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iBeacon technology introduction Focus on Retail

Author: Andy Cavallini ([email protected] )

Version 1.1

For the latest version of this document and for additional

content about iBeacon technology, please visit

http://www.gaia-matrix.com

Feel free to download the “iBeacon Bible”, a valuable

whitepaper about iBeacon technology from


2

iBeacon technology introduction Table of Content

Pain-point Solution Effects

Micro-location & Interaction

Distances: ranges/regions

Let’s Recap

Hardware & Software support

Conclusion

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iBeacon technology can greatly change how brands and companies

interact with customers and improve their shopping experience

Using iBeacon technology, retailers can now target the right shopper, in the right place, at

the right time, interactively engaging her in new ways, while learning in real-time from her

movement patterns and behaviour

iBeacon technology introduction

Pain-point

Solution

Effects

Remember the wise words of John Wanamaker?

(*): in the broad sense of marketing, customer engagement, etc.

“Half the money I spend on advertising(*) is wasted, the trouble is,

I don't know which half” John Wanamaker,

father of modern

advertising and a

"pioneer in marketing"

Pain-point Solution Effects

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iBeacon technology introduction

iBeacons broadcast a

“I am here!” message

approx. once per second

using Bluetooth Low

Energy standard

iBeacon-enabled Apps are notified when the

Mobile device moves in and out of range

of iBeacons, allowing:

• precise, indoor geo-location

(often called “Micro-location”)

• contextual interaction/engagement

Proximity to a specific iBeacon can

trigger some App functionality to

perform a specific action on a specific

Mobile device, at exactly a specific

time and in a specific location

Interaction and engagement

can be furthermore improved

if the App is able to connect to

the Net, for example to fetch the

shopper’s shopping history, etc.

iBeacons are tiny,

low-cost,

battery-operated,

wireless

transmitters

Start

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Micro-location & Interaction

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iBeacon-enabled

Mobile App

iBeacon technology introduction Distances: ranges/regions

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Acquiring a wealth of information on in-store shopping

behaviour prior to purchase in real-time

The big deal with

iBeacon technology:

Traditionally, shopper-behaviour can be

realistically deducted only at the end of the

shopping process, at payment time, when

the loyalty-card and all purchased items

are scanned by the cashier

Engaging the shopper with timely customized content and

marketing initiatives related to specific products, when the

shopper is in front of those products

Integrating different sales-channels, improving shopping

experience (for the shopper) and processes (for the retailer),

regardless if purchasing takes place online or offline (in-store)

iBeacon technology introduction Let’s Recap (1/2)

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Abandoned

online

shopping-cart

follow-up can be

a realistic

opportunity for

brick-and-mortar

stores

Evaluate and

act on

conversion-rates

to maximize

ecommerce and

in-store sales at

the same time

Acquiring a wealth of information on in-store shopping

behaviour prior to purchase in real-time

The big deal with

iBeacon technology:

Traditionally, shopper-behaviour can be

realistically deducted only at the end of the

shopping process, at payment time, when

the loyalty-card and all purchased items

are scanned by the cashier

Engaging the shopper with timely customized content and

marketing initiatives related to specific products, when the

shopper is in front of those products

Integrating different sales-channels, improving shopping

experience (for the shopper) and processes (for the retailer),

regardless if purchasing takes place online or offline (in-store)

A shopper has checked an item

in-store but did not purchase it;

the retailer can offer the

shopper a discount via email or

directly on her smartphone the

next time she enters the same

store (or another store of the

same chain)

The retailer can gather, for

instance, if the shopper

visited the same store or

other stores of the same

chain, which

shelves/items she

checked there, if she

previously went online on

the retailer's website to

check out the same or

different items, and so on.

Real-time A/B testing

can be run in-store

(it’s a method very dear

to online marketers that

allows to directly

compare the results of

different marketing

initiatives)

iBeacon technology introduction Let’s Recap (2/2)

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Both Apple (with iOS and OS X) and

Google (with Android) have committed

to support for Bluetooth Low Energy

(BLE).

This means very broad availability

(literally millions of devices are

already iBeacons-enabled) and no

danger of launching services that

only target a single OS

What about Microsoft?

Microsoft appears to have recently

added support for BLE in Windows 8

and Windows Phone 8.

Nokia's recent Lumia WP8 phones are

confirmed to include BLE hardware

Apple’s iOS/OS X

The following iDevices (running at least iOS 7)

are supported: iPhone 4S or later, iPad 3 or

later, any iPad mini, iPod touch 5th generation

or later.

Macs (equipped with at least OS X 10.9

Mavericks): mid-2011 MacBook Air, Mac mini,

mid-2012 MacBook Pros.

Earlier Macs can add Bluetooth 4.0 support

through a third party USB dongle

Google’s Android

The first version of Android supporting

iBeacons is 4.3 (Jelly Bean).

Many Android devices already support BLE:

Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note II,

HTC One, Nexus 7 2013 edition, Nexus 4,

HTC Butterfly, Droid DNA, etc.

iBeacon technology introduction Hardware & Software support

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iBeacon technology introduction Conclusion

iBeacon technology is very powerful and

flexible, so we (engineers, marketers,

creatives, etc.) have the opportunity to create

new important applications to improve the

life of people and to create business value

for big and small companies

For the latest version of this document and for additional

content about iBeacon technology, please visit


Feel free to download the “iBeacon Bible”, a valuable

whitepaper about iBeacon technology from


Some final notes:

Don’t hesitate to contact Andy Cavallini, the author of this

document, via email: [email protected]

iBeacon technology introduction (retail)

Technology

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