5 Emerging Challenges for Beacons Implementation
Beacons working with low energy Bluetooth technology are basically low-cost sensors that took proximity marketing n various industries to the next level. They have already been proved highly effective for transmitting location-specific data about consumers in retail outlets and marketplaces. Beacons have also been heavily used by event managers to track the movement of participants and detect any security threats underway. Educational establishments also made sophisticated use of Beacons technology to allow input and facilitate communication among learners and teachers while they are indoors. Some individuals even used Beacons for home automation and security systems at the residence.
Well, with the popularity of Beacons is continuing across the industries, we must take it seriously for knowing how it can change the face of proximity marketing and communication in the time to come. But as far as the implementation and end result of Beacons go in retail and other sectors, the picture is not all that rosy. In fact, there are quite a few challenges that still wooing the reputation of Beacons as a technology. Moreover, new Wi-Fi based proximity technology has already arrived to throw a challenge to the Beacons.
So, considering all we can only see the pros, cons and emerging challenges of Beacons implementation in a new light. Before we introduce the 5 biggest challenges faced by the users in Beacons implementation we would like to have a look at the key pros and cons of this technology we have noticed so far. Let us have a look at them.
- Beacons have been widely applied for in-store retail and as a payment solution. Most first generation Beacons apps concentrated on retail.
- Beacons apps have been appreciated by the majority of consumers as a value addition to their shopping experience in retail stores. This is particularly true in countries like the US where 50% of adults use a smartphone in retail stores.
- The security protocols comprising several different layers of protocols proved to be the biggest challenge to the adoption of Beacons in retail and other consumer sectors.
- While Apple quickly adopted and came out with its iBeacon technology and apps, other mobile platforms have been slow in responding to the potential of Beacons. This created a gap in the receptivity of the technology among people.
- At present several players are coming with their Beacons hardware heating up the battle over beacon technology are heating up. After Apple now PayPal and Qualcomm are coming up with their own Beacons hardware. An array of vendors is also going to offer mixed Beacons offerings with software apps and hardware for the platform.
- Starting with retail applications Beacons now went beyond the retail sector and have been adopted in different sectors where proximity tracking can have serious positive implications. From passenger transit hubs to big public events, Beacons are now being used for customer service and security.
Challenges for Beacons Technology
In spite of the huge popularity and the exciting range of possibilities, Beacons technology also has few impending obstacles to deal with. Well, we already know few of these challenges like the layers of permissions that users need to adhere to. But, there are others as well related to Beacons implementation and challenge from emerging technologies, most notable new Wi-Fi based proximity.
Let us now introduce 5 key challenges for Beacons technology.
Limited range
The so-called “maximum range” of beacon connectivity is far less than enough in most cases and this proves to be the biggest challenge for this technology until now. Basically, Beacons works depending on ‘Broadcasting Signal Power’ and naturally to enhance the range one needs to increase the power of broadcasting. But the inefficiency of energy usage by Beacons devices until now has been an obstacle for increasing broadcasting power. Thus, the limited network range continued to be a wooing issue with Beacons.
Sending unnecessary notifications
Beacons mainly unleash the proximity marketing maneuvers through push notification messages. But often unnecessary messages creating an overload of information on users device leads to the negative impression that can further lead to scrapping the retail app altogether. As per a recent study conducted by in Market, with each push notification hitting the customer’s device upon arriving on the store, the risk for a significant drop in app usage is around 313%. More store officials and restaurant managers also false notifications prove to be a challenge. By partnering with a wrong service provider or by deploying the Beacons in wrong positions you can be notified unnecessarily when the customer instead of entering your premise is visiting the shop next door.
Retailers unleashing Beacons only through their own apps
Retailers often in adopting to Beacons depend heavily on their own retail apps. But, they forget that such apps are mostly used by the loyal customers and naturally, with that app they cannot take advantage of the proximity marketing when strangers and non-loyal customers reach their store. A generic third party app that allows proximity tracking and Beacons enabled service can allow retailers grab the full potential of Beacons.
Not using Beacons for customer service and store navigation
Beacons through all these years have been utilized mainly as a tool for marketing and to address in-store customers with offers and promotional campaigns or else Beacons have been used for easy payment options. This typical marketing-centric approach largely restricted the potential of Beacons. Naturally, more important business endeavors like customer service and in-store navigation have either been neglected or given a backseat in the list of priorities. Beacons can really be a great technology to help people find what they need in real time.
The Wi-Fi challenge
The Bluetooth low energy (BLE) technology in the recent times has been challenged by latest Wi-Fi Aware framework that offers deeper and expansive proximity engagement, as per the latest reports. Wi-Fi Aware designed to work with existing Wi-Fi infrastructure will easily allow Wi-Fi devices both in the role of access points and proximity sensors. For example, in a large retail store with already implemented Wi-Fi infrastructure shoppers and customers can be engaged with proximity tracking on the Wi-Fi network itself. Though Wi-Fi Aware is still in its nascent state as a proximity tracking technology, it can emerge as a new challenge for Beacons.
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