Beacons in Retail -Location-Based Marketing Platform

The retail sector has been one of the early adopters of iBeacon technology. Many major retailers such as Macy’s and Lord & Taylor have already deployed beacons in a majority of their stores after successful pilot programs. By 2016, 85% of major retailers in the US will be using beacons in their stores. Here is a list of beacon deployments by major retailers.

 

1.    Macy’s

After beacon trials in New York and San Francisco, Macy’s has now deployed 4000 beacons across its various stores in the US. The retail chain took the third-party app route so that anyone with the partner app on their phone will receive the currently available promotions, deals or discounts.

Macy’s enabled 150,000 associates in 45 states across the country with iPhones or iTouches for increased access to information about customers in-store, allowing them to better meet each customer’s needs.

Future plans: Tracking and targeting someone who came to the store but didn’t buy anything.

2.    Lord & Taylor

Lord & Taylor deployed beacons in seven departments in its Boston store with individualized campaigns. As customers enter the store, they receive a message on their smartphone welcoming them. They are also asked if they would like to opt in to receive further messages. The company has currently deployed 10 beacons per store.

Lord & Taylor saw a 60 percent engagement rate with its beacon marketing program.

 

3.    American Eagle Outfitter

American Eagle Outfitters also took the third party route with beacons. The company placed beacons at the front entrance and in dressing rooms. When a customer with the partner app enters the store, the beacon senses their smartphone’s presence via Bluetooth and notifies them about possible rewards for trying on clothes. Then, the beacon in each fitting room determines if a customer has approached it, and awards points accordingly.

More than 10,000 customers took part in this trial. To ensure that only interested

customers received offers, the company provided the option to easily disable

notifications.

Future plans: Use beacons to connect to customers through American Eagle’s own app.

 

4.    Regent Street

Regent Street has become a leader in the use of iBeacon technology with 130 stores installing beacons at their entrances. Shoppers can select the type of information they would like to receive. The technology also allows brands to build a detailed profile of customers who redeem online special offers, respond to mobile advertising and actually enter the physical stores.

 

5.    House of Fraser

House of Fraser chose to trial beacons in their stores last year by creating smart mannequins. This enabled them to send offers to shoppers’ mobile phones as they walk past the mannequins. The beacons placed in the mannequins communicate information such as the

price of the clothes the mannequin is wearing, a link to purchase the item in-app as well as its location within the store.

Future Plans: Focus on tailoring the in-store experience and making it more convenient for consumers.

 

Quick Stats:

One-third of the Top 100 retailers in the United States will have deployed at least some beacons this year, according to Business Insider.

 A Business Insider Intelligence study predicts  that U.S. on--‐premise sales  “influenced by beacon--‐triggered  messages” will jump from $4.1 billion in 2015 to $44.4 billion in 2016

 

Questions to answer before getting started with beacons in your retail store

 

If you’re looking to get started with beacons in your store, the first step would be to understand the use cases that benefit you and your customers.

How do your customers shop?

·         What kind of messages are your customers looking for?

·         How seamless is the experience that you currently offer across channels (i.e. website, mobile, etc.)?

·         What do you want to measure using beacons? This can include things like

·         demographic breakdowns, bounce rates, offer / coupon redemptions, date of visit, frequency of visit.

·         How do you wish to identify and reward returning customers?

 

6 beacon campaign ideas

Install beacons in specific sections of the store to send promotional offers

·         Use beacons at the entrance of the store to send promotional offers to customers passing by the store.

·         Use geo-fencing to promote the deals & offers of your store.

·         Place beacons near dressing rooms to offer targeted sales and rewards points for trying on clothes.

·         Use beacons near check-out to send offers to customers while they wait in line.

·         Remind customers of their loyalty points accumulated so far and incentivize them to redeem points for offers.

 

Launch your beacon pilot campaign today with any developer’s help! SWIVIO makes it easy to order and deploy beacons.