Mon, 06/02/2014 – 05:26 by Among other, anticipated product announcements at Apple’s WWDC conference today (iPhone, smart home, iOS 8) the company may make some new iBeacon announcements. According to the
Wall Street Journal, Apple has placed iBeacons around the conference hall where WWDC is taking place to demonstrate the BLE technology to developers.
The WSJ article gets a number of things wrong about the technology however. For example Bluetooth beacons/iBeacon cannot currently enable precise indoor location indoors so it’s definitely not “indoor GPS.” Indeed, this is a potential advantage because users cannot be accurately “tracked” by merchants, allieviating some privacy concerns.
It’s really only one-way opt-in communication from a retailer to a consumer. However beacons require the download of an app to work. Provided the case is made (i.e., offers, better in-store experience) consumers will be receptive.
Among a range of indoor location technologies, iBeacon has the most visibility right now. Apple has deployed iBeacons in all of its 250+ retail stores globally.
In addition several NBA teams and Major League Baseball are using iBeacons to enhance the fan experience. For example, the Golden State Warriors basketball team sold better seats and offered welcome messages and discounts on team merchandise to fans in the arena using the Bluetooth Beacons. The team says the experience was very positive and intends a broader range of use cases next season.
In addition, retailer Alex and Ani is rolling out iBeacons in all 40 of its retail locations. American Eagle Outfitters, in partnership with retail loyalty app Shopkick, said it would install iBeacons in its more than 100 U.S. retail stores this year. And British retail giant Tesco is testing how beacons can be used to improve the in-store experience.
For those who want more information, we provide a broad overview and discussion of iBeacons and Bluetooth based in-store marketing in our report “
A Marketer’s Guide to iBeacons.” You can also listen to our recent webinar on BLE Beacons:
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Beacons (but were afraid to ask) featuring Steve Hegenderfer, director of developer programs at Bluetooth SIG.
But for the most comprehensive look at indoor location, offline analytics and proximity marketing register for
Place 2014 in New York on July 22. Be sure to take a look at the
session and speaker lineup.
