Beacon Technology 2016 | Remarkable Growth on Bluetooth beacon device in retail market

Source    : whatech

By        : Wise Guy Reports  

Category  : Beacon Technology 2016, Future of beacon

Since a substantial contribution in the retail industry comes from organized retail, which include hypermarkets, supermarkets, department stores, discounters, specialty stores, and cash & carry stores, the growth in organized retailing is expediting the growth of the Bluetooth beacons devices market.

Multichannel marketing as well as in the product distribution in the retail industry has become one of the major trends, which is driving the growth of the market. Bluetooth beacons manufacturers are following this trend and are developing software apps for beacons as well as manufacturing beacon devices.

One such example is that EDDYBOX, beacon device manufacturer, is developing mobile software app for both the iOS and Android platform.Geographical segmentation of the Bluetooth beacons market in retail APAC Europe North America ROW (Latin America and MEA) North America has the largest penetration of organized retails, hence this region generates the majority of the revenue in the Bluetooth beacons market in the retail industry.

The US being the largest market in this region, holds a market share of close to 84% in terms of the shipments of beacon devices as of 2015. Segmentation by technology standard of the Bluetooth beacons market in retail . Competitive landscape and key vendors The global Bluetooth beacons device market is still in its nascent stage as the technology as well as the product is relatively new in the market.

Most of the retailers are deploying the beacon devices in try and test mode, and the vendors are at present not in for aggressive marketing for their products. Nevertheless, manufacturers have now started to innovate the end products using the same and standardized technology available in the global market.

The key vendors in this market are - Eddybox,BlueCats Estimote Kontakt.io PayPal Gimbal.

(Read More : whatech.com/market-research/consumer/118714-global-bluetooth-beacon-device-market-in-retail-from-2016-to-2020-to-grow-at-a-remarkable-cagr-of-around-17-according-to-new-research-report )

Retailers find their sea legs with beacons for mobile engagement

Source    :MobilePaymentsToday
By        : Will Hernandez
Category  : Beacon in retails, Beacon Technology Nepal

"You read all these articles about whether beacons were more hype than substance and I think the truth of it is that there's a ton of substance in terms of what beacons can unlock from an advertising perspective," Jim Meckley, CMO of Mobiquity Networks, told Mobile Payments Today in an interview. "The trick is that it was much more complex to implement that than everyone initially gave it credit for."

Mobiquity Networks is a Garden City, New York-based mobile advertising network that helps brands and retailers connect with consumers who shop at malls nationwide. The company has partnerships with the three largest operators of U.S. malls: General Growth Properties; Simon Property Group; and Westfield Group.

Mobiquity Networks' pitch to retailers is different from shopkick's in that it has beacons present in common areas at malls. Retailers work with Mobiquity Networks to reach consumers in those common areas, either through their branded mobile app or via third-party apps such as Shopular.

But retailers face some potential shortcomings with this approach.

"The retailers that have any kind of scale with their apps you can probably count on one of your hands," he said. "It drops off quickly."

Meckley believes that third-party apps such as Shopular help to close that gap and he believes we'll see more of them in the future.

"The more diverse the range of mobile apps you have in your publishing network, the better targeting you'll receive," he said. "We'll get to a point where the retailer can be selective as to which [third-party] app publishers they want to use to get closer to that ideal target audience."

But how do brands and retailers measure success when they reach the ideal target audience? It varies.

"I don't know if anyone out there has proven the value proposition, so no one is a 100 percent sure,” Meckley said. “How do I compare this to other advertising methods?"

Mobiquity Networks can measure whether a notification can entice someone to enter a store even if they don't click on the offer. Meckley claims that this happens more often than not. The company is in the process of creating proprietary metrics to measure the success of the advertising campaigns it offers retailers.

Shopkick's Langsdorf said the company measures success with retailers by incremental store traffic and incremental sales. "We've been able to keep our existing partners and drive new ones, and they are seeing incremental sales," she said.

What's next?
Ultimately, the consumer determines how effective beacons can be for retailers.

As mentioned earlier, the consumer must have both Bluetooth and push notifications turned on. They must also find value in being pinged multiple times within one store.

"I think a lot of companies have struggled with [beacon deployments] because they haven't been upfront with consumers about the reasons to keep Bluetooth turned on and if consumers don't see the value of it, they'll see it as a nuisance," Langsdorf said.

Meckley believes the best approach for retailers is to show consumers how beacon technology enhances the shopping experience.

"I think we've been successful in nailing down these partnerships with the mall operators because the mall operator's primary objective is to improve the shopping experience," he said.

Meckley added that once retailers convey the proper message to consumers about this type of mobile engagement, the industry can stop discussing the shortcomings of beacon technology.

"We'll know this is successful when people stop talking about it," he said.

(Read More : mobilepaymentstoday.com/articles/retailers-find-their-sea-legs-with-beacons-for-mobile-engagement/)

Beacon Technology Nepal | Location-based Technologies

Source    : luxurydaily
By        : Alex Samuely
Category  : Beacon Technology Nepal, Location -based Technologies

While beacons were one of 2015’s top buzzwords, other proximity-based targeting tactics could have their heyday this year as bricks-and-mortar retailers continue beacon pilots and uncover best-response solutions for their customers.

Retailers with heavy bricks-and-mortar footprints – such as department and chain stores – have been engaging in experimentation with beacons over the better part of 2015, although some have run into difficulties with wary consumers concerned about privacy. 2016 is likely to see more wide-scale deployments in malls and major shopping centers, although some marketers may be enticed by other forms of location-based push notifications and offers done in collaboration with publishers’ applications.

“For beacons, 2015 was a year of capability and use-case testing, but most importantly, a year of discovering the range of technologies that must be integrated to realize the true potential of beacon marketing,” said Jim Meckley, chief marketing officer of Mobiquity Networks, Garden City, NY. “Beacons will find their place in the sophisticated marketer’s mix in 2016, and will be combined with relevant mobile app publisher networks, point of sale databases, and loyalty programs.


Altering previous efforts

Mobile marketing’s meteoric rise last year prompted more smartphone users to become accustomed to opting in to location-based deals. This required them to relinquish a portion of their personal data and proximity to certain stores, but ultimately yielded what many believed to be a valuable incentive – exclusive, time-sensitive deals or ads.

As the use of beacons by retailers and brands to engage mobile shoppers reached unprecedented levels over the holiday season, a recent report from inMarket forecasted that proximity marketing would impact $7.5 billion in spending by millennials during this period (see story).

Additionally, the proliferation of smartwatches in the current market – many of which were given as holiday gifts – could make beacon marketing easier to come by this year. However, some argue that the same capabilities could be performed by other geo-targeting methods, such as advertisements delivered to consumers in a specific area.


One of beacons’ biggest challenges is accurately pinpointing where consumers are located in a store. For example, if a brand wants to send a coupon for handbags to shoppers in that vicinity, it must be able to rely on beacons to disperse the deal to those customers, instead of customers browsing for shirts in the next department.

This has prompted some marketers to team up with mall-based beacon solutions dedicated to driving initial in-store traffic. Department-specific targeting still needs to be perfected.

“Many retailers were already experimenting with beacons in 2015, and we’ll likely see the larger players move beyond experimentation into large-scale deployment,” Mr. Meckley said. “Naturally, most activity will be across bricks-and-mortar retailers – brands will have the opportunity to take advantage of beacon technology through mall common-area networks like ours, or if retailers choose to make their in-store networks available to the brands they carry.”

Reports from ABI Research suggest that marketers are gearing up to leverage Bluetooth Low Energy beacons in staggering force this year, thanks to the amount of orders and shipments placed in 2015’s third quarter. Brands found to have entered into contracts include H&M, Macy’s and IKEA.

Retailers looking for mobile success in 2016 will need to focus on geo-targeting to provide in-store customers with more relevant experiences, an EKN Research analyst said during a Mobile Marketer webinar in December (see story).

Bridging two-way communication
Beacons may become more popular as a result of the two-way communication they offer shoppers and retailers. While the technology certainly plays an integral role in fueling mobile commerce, beacons can also be used to bolster loyalty program sign-ups, app downloads and in-store traffic.

Brands will clamor to hop on this bandwagon, especially as they ramp up to foster additional long-lasting customer relationships and cement strong Q1 sales.

“The biggest single technology trend that will affect the retail environment in the coming year will be the rise of beacons as an increasingly accepted form of digital communication with shoppers,” said Lance Eliot, vice president of information technology at Interactions, Franklin, MA. “Currently, most of the retailers using beacons are doing so on a very subtle and cautious trial basis.

“Stores aren’t sure yet whether consumers will love or hate beacons,” he said. “Consumers might come to hate them if they are perceived as overly obtrusive.

“Shoppers do not want to walk into a store and feel as though ‘Big Brother’ has suddenly taken hold of their smartphones. Nor do they want to constantly have their shopping experience disrupted by numerous messages and alerts telling them about special deals in the store.”

Consequently, beacon-powered messages must be enticing, but not aggressive. Last year’s deployments have given marketers sufficient data to tweak their messaging tactics this year, and ensure that each mobile moment counts.


(Read More : luxurydaily.com/why-other-location-based-technologies-could-steal-beacons-thunder-in-2016/)

Beacon Technology Nepal | Beacon tech for grain harvesters helps protect crops

Source    : computerworld
By        : Matt Hamblen
Category  :  Beacon Technology, Bluetooth Beacon 

Bluetooth Low Energy beacon technology hasn’t caught on as fast as expected, but that hasn't stopped companies from rolling out applications that use it. One such app is the Fliegl Tracker from a German company that makes harvesters and other farming equipment.

Fliegl, based in Muhldorf in the Bavaria region of Germany, showed off its $25 beacon and sensor devices at the CES trade show here. Beacons are Bluetooth transmitters that constantly send messages, such as their location, to smartphones or tablets at close range. The Tracker beacons are attached to enormous harvesting and grain transport vehicles and can be combined with weight-sensing devices on the trucks themselves.

With the beacons, a truck loaded with thousands of pounds of grain can be tracked as soon as it leaves the field where the grain was harvested. As a beacon device passes a tracking sensor -- say at the border of a farm or on another vehicle -- its weight can be transmitted via Bluetooth and recorded.

When the grain arrives at its destination, its weight can be taken again for comparison. The tracking information helps reduce loss of grain through pilferage, and also gives the grain buyer confidence that the grain on the truck actually came from a specific farm.

Previously, trucks carrying grain usually weren’t weighed until they reached a truck scales area miles away. That gap can be eliminated with the Fliegl Tracker and a specialized precise weight detector.

Franz Hopfinger, a manager for research and development at Fliegl, said the tracking technology also helps with ifood safety. Food companies want proof of where grain is harvested, as do consumers.

The beacons themselves are small, light and almost maintenance free, he said, and they can be used with old or new vehicles. Each beacon uses two AA batteries, estimated to last five years, given the low-power requirements of the application.

Fliegl is a 50-year-old company with a history of making harvesters and other large agricultural equipment. In the future, beacons will help detect every time a truck’s rear gate opens or closes, for added security.

Hopfinger also has a long history at the company: he was previously a driver of Fliegl trucks.

Fliegl appeared at an event with other companies using Bluetooth technology to transmit all kinds of data, ranging from wearables to industrial gear.

Errett Kroeter, vice president of marketing at the Bluetooth Special Internet Group, said the Fliegl example is one of many Bluetooth beacon examples that are starting to emerge in industry. Last year, some U.S. retailers, including Target, said they were using beacons to communicate via Bluetooth to smartphones used by shoppers to find special offers inside their stores.

The University of Oklahoma at Norman began rolling out beacons to help students find study rooms and class information in its central library.

ABI Research analyst Patrick Connolly recently said the numbers of beacons shipped so far has remained “quite small,” with 3 million devices shipping globally in 2015. He predicted that number will double in 2016.

Kroeter said analysts have told him the numbers of beacons shipped in 2020 globally will reach 375 million, with an installed based by that time of more than 800 million.

“This is a market that’s growing fast, and in addition to retail, we should be seeing growth in implementations in buildings and other city infrastructure,” he said.

(Read More : computerworld.com/article/3019896/internet-of-things/beacon-tech-for-grain-harvesters-helps-protect-crops.html)

Beacon Technology Nepal | Hackathon awards developers in proximity based technologies

Source    : secureidnews
By        : Gina Jordon
Category  :  Beacon Technology Nepal , Bluetooth Beacon 

The spread of mobile is driving demand for creative mash-ups of proximity-based technologies. That’s why tech incubator AccelerateNFC and proximity ID company Flomio created TrackHack: The Proximity ID Hackathon. TrackHack is a first-of-its-kind event focused solely on the proximity ID technologies that power the Internet of Things – radio frequency identification, Bluetooth Low Energy, and near field communication. The hackathon was held November 20 – 22 in London.

 Organizers call it “an event where hackers and developers can access all proximity ID tech and do what they do best — create, innovate and disrupt.” Eleven teams submitted identity-related entries. Projects included simplifying management of contacts, keeping track of luggage while traveling, and reducing electronic waste. “The tech used in the award winning applications included NXP, HID, OmniID and UGrokIt – which provided a nice mix between NFC, RFID and Bluetooth beacon tech,” says Robert P. Sabella, founder of NFC Bootcamp and AccelerateNFC. “Projects also included wristband identity solutions for event check-in and payments, and injectable chips to enable identification and payments via the tap of a human hand.”

The hackathon brought together experts in development, software/hardware, technology standards, and marketing. Sabella says developers were given a real world perspective in creating solutions and understanding the process of rolling out a new solution “from ideation to development to implementation.” But there’s a learning curve on how to effectively integrate proximity hardware into a web application. So for future events, organizers hope to seed developers’ ideas with current use cases and give them examples of sample code in advance.

“A lot of people today are talking about the Internet of Things. There are ‘connected’ cars, wine bottles, clothing, appliances, jewelry, movie posters, games and toys. Just about any product you can think of can be connected to the digital world in some way,” Sabella says. “We are creating the next stage of the IoT journey. We are already planning our next TrackHack.” It will be held March 11-13, 2016 in Austin, Texas, during South by Southwest.

(Source : secureidnews.com/news-item/hackathon-awards-developers-in-proximity-based-technologies/)

Beacon Technology Nepal | Bluetooth low energy beacons will have their day

Source    : Techeye
By        :  Mike Magee
Category  :  Beacon Technology Nepal

A report said that Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons will hit the mainstream market.
ABI Research said that in the third quarter of this year some big names bought into the technology.
Those include McDonalds, Carrefour, IKEA, Pizza Hut, and H&M.

Another trend leading to their use is that Group, Facebook and Google are bringing their beacon strategies to market.

Patrick Connolly, a principal analyst at ABI, said that most vendors are shipping multiple contracts in the 10s of thousands.

There’s evidence of a strong push for the beacons in India too, he said. InteractionOne has just deployed a 1,000 beacon network.

Applications straddle more than 20 vertical markts including industrial, vending, hospitals and airports.


(Read More : techeye.net/news/bluetooth-low-energy-beacons-will-have-their-day )

Proximity Based Application | Elle uses beacon technology to drive 500,000 retail store visits

Source    : digiday
By        : Hilary Milnes
Category  : Proximity Based Application

Many publishers add product links to articles to try to get readers to buy online. With a new shopping gambit, Elle magazine is driving consumers into actual physical stores.


“The single, most universal request I hear from every advertiser, whether it’s luxury, beauty or fast fashion, is, ‘Help us drive retail store traffic,’” said O’Malley. “Everyone wants more people in stores — and that’s not necessarily new — but right now, retailers are seeing a fall off more than ever.”

Beacon technology has become a way for retailers to boost in-store traffic with digital features.

“Readers rely on Elle’s point of view when making purchasing decisions, so that combined with an offer, like a discount, is a powerful combination,” said Murphy.

Results from the first five weeks were strong enough that Elle plans to continue the program in 2016.
The push open rate was 15 times higher than the mobile advertising average of 0.8, while in-store visit rates were 100 times higher. That translated to 500,000 in-store visits driven by the beacons in five weeks, O’Malley said. According to a 2015 study by Deloitte, beacon messages over the past year had a 1 percent open rate, and of those who opened the messages, 20 percent went into stores.

“We already curate product in our magazines, but this gets it to the reader when they’re out in the market,” said O’Malley. “That editorial endorsement is highly valuable, because when someone gets a pop-up from a brand selling something, the instinct is delete, delete, delete.”


For Elle, the idea behind Shop Now was to use its editorial sway with readers when they’re out (and possibly closer to a store), not on the couch flipping through a magazine. Despite positive results in its first run, Elle is waiting until after the holidays to continue the program.

“The holidays are a crowded, noisy time,” said O’Malley. “We’re going to instead take a hiatus, and recollect.”

(Read More: digiday.com/publishers/elle-uses-beacon-technology-drive-500000-retail-store-visits/)