Apple’s iBeacon Making it Big

For the benefit of those who have not heard of the term beacon yet, beacon as defined by the Merriam Webster is

: a strong light that can be seen from far away and that is used to help guide ships, airplanes, etc.

: a radio signal that is broadcast to help guide ships, airplanes, etc.

: someone or something (such as a country) that guides or gives hope to others

The third definition is a little hilarious but it actually makes sense. In technology, a beacon is an inexpensive device designed to solve the blocking of cell signals in an indoor space. It is basically about indoor mobile communication. Since most people now spend their time indoors with their smartphones and tablets, and only take the time to go out to get signal, beacons opened a new avenue for companies to make money. As a matter of fact, the leading brand to date is none other than Apple. Yes, Apple is making it big in the beacon technology with their iBeacon.

Here are some important information you need to know about beacons:

• Apple’s iBeacon is actually integrated into its devices and iOS7 mobile operating system.


• It would not be long before we see beacons from PayPal and Qualcomm.


• Retail outlets are already installing beacons to easily present customers with product info and flash sales and to provide faster checkout process.


• Beacons can improve your in-store shopping experience a great deal. As a matter of fact, half of American adults are already using it.


• Beacons are expected to invade even airports and ground transit hubs.

See this chart for more info.

Apple’s iBeacon Making it Big

New Technologies Adopted by Retailers

More and more shops are using digital to promote their items instead of using the cardboard displays or coupon dispensers like in the olden days. One of the examples is the usage of iBeacons app. The tiny GPS devices will activate smart phones in the nearby location to display weekly ads and coupons. The app will help to remove the difficulty of engaging customer and facilitate customer’s interaction. Unfortunately it will only works in United States.

Another example is the digitized shelf-level marketing with tools like Americhip’s Video Product Replicas, which will display screen small enough to fit inside a product mock up and play a 30-seconds promotional video. This will grab attention of older people who might not have digital devices.

A few other examples as per below:

Chip-Activated Video

How it works is that there is a RFID chip that is stitched on the clothing. Therefore, when a customer picks up the clothing, it will play a fashion video nearby. Some of the high-end retailers are using it such as Burberry and Kate Spade. Both claims that it has boost their sales.

Quicker Checkout

How it works is that a handheld scanner (U-Scan) is lent to a customer. It will keep track on the items which is dropped into the cart. This will eventually cut down the waiting time at the cashier. Another system (Kroger’s QueVision) will use predictive analysis and assign shoppers to the shortest queue.

Micro-Location Awareness

How it works is that if the smart phone user has a iBeacon apps installed on it, it will be able to know what are the promotions available around the area. It will also be able to help the users to find an item that they were searching for.

New Technologies Adopted by Retailers