“Retail has a savior and, ironically, it’s a new type of technology,” according to Kenny Kline in a Huffington Post blog. And what is this new technology? Small devices called Bluetooth beacons, which can communicate wordlessly and wirelessly to customers as they walk past an enabled display. 

These beacons take advantage of the fact that many customers have Bluetooth enabled smartphones in their hands as they walk through a store. As Kline says, “One of the most trying obstacles that retail currently faces is how to engage with customers glued to their devices.”  

By using these low-cost, battery operated devices a retailer can send a message directly to the customer, either providing information, making a recommendation or giving the shopper access to a special offer. In other words, iBeacons can help make shopping an interactive smart phone experience.

These beacons are location based, which means that the technology is aware of where a customer is in the store at any time. But isn’t it our job as shopkeepers to know where shoppers are in the store, and offer them assistance based on what products they appear to be interested in? So far the Bluetooth beacons haven’t proved to be an important factor for smaller retailers, but Kline’s article just came out earlier this year. We’ll have to wait and see whether this technology is indeed the store owner’s savior in these trying times.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder