Beacons are about to cause yet another new twist on in-storeshopping.
We know from various research studies that even though many people use their phones while they shop in stores, many also do not.
A novel in-store approach shown at the NRFconference and expo this week highlighted how beacons can tap into mobile phones in a pocket or purse and leverage location information along with past behaviors to customize nearby on-screendisplays.
Those displays are on large store screens, not phone screens. The twist here is that the consumer never looks at their phone during the entire shopping process.
The idea isto use beacon-triggered location information to provide highly targeted information that helps a shopper, without that consumer ever having to use their phone.
The beacon-enabled platform Isaw at the NRF Big Show this week was created by SapientNitro and is initially targeted to specialty retailers.
Many beacon implementations involve the sending of beacon-triggered messages,such as ads, discounts or coupons, when a shopper nears a particular product or aisle.
The SapientNitro approach is the exact opposite, with no messaging ever being sent to a phone, eventhough it has been beaconed.
“It recognizes the app coming into the store,” said Ryan Scott, vice president, strategy and platforms, at SapientNitro, who demonstrated the systemfor me.
The large screen in the demonstration played a video highlighting a particular product or product category based on the profile of the person approaching the screen.
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