Emerging Technology
Enhance existing ads: NFC inlays & smart posterss—An NFC smart pay only when consumers elect to hear more about their deals and promotions. Pricing varies depending on industry and poster, offered by companies like Web Evolved or Tapinn, can geo-targeting criteria, however most merchants pay about contain coupons, information about a product, or loyalty points $1.00 per signup—far less than the cost of click in a search without the customer having to even enter your store. It can also advertising campaign. help customers find your business by linking to online directions, make a purchase, or instantly “like” or “follow” you with the simple While geofencing does not require the physical activation of swiptap of their phone. ing a smartphone on a tag or terminal like NFC, it only allows communication on an opt-in basis, meaning a smartphone user Geofencing has to opt into this “service” on your website or by sending a text message to your promotional number. However, most if not all Geofencing is also a technology that allows retail stores to com- recent polls and research reveal more than half of consumers with municate with consumers, the idea being to target those that are smartphones say they’d trade their phone number or location prinearby. A geofence is a predefined virtual boundary around a vacy for discounts. This puts retailers that much closer to seeing physical location, like a two-block radius around a retail store. It success with getting consumers opting in. can be any size or shape, and when a shopper enters or leaves that area, stores can send text or push notification on an opt-in basis, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) offering a geo-targeted ad, coupon or marketing message about BLE, which is supported on iPhones and newer Android the store or specific products. phones, can be used for communicating with devices in very Although only big names like Best Buy and Kmart have made head- specific locations inside your store, and allows detailed tracking lines trying versions of geofencing, small business owners should and data exchange without a conscious physical activation (like swiping a phone over a terminal). Bluetooth is nothing new, not assume that this is accessible only to major retailers. There are but the low-energy (LE) standard has been getting a lot of buzz multiple mobile advertising platforms that offer geofencing tools since Apple’s release of iOS 7 along with a quiet announcement aimed directly at small businesses: of a feature called iBeacon, which utilizes BLE for data transfer 1. Moasis (moasisglobal.com) The Moasis Smart GridSM offers “a between devices. better way to connect businesses and consumers in local spaces.” Companies like Estimote (a company which just launched to sell Moasis specializes in helping businesses to target consumers in beacons) and Shopkick (a shopping rewards app) have already a certain neighborhood, city, or even in the street blocks near developed “beacons” for retailers to install in their stores and their stores. Business owners bid for ad space just like they use to push personalized micro-location based notifications and might with Twitter Ads or Google AdWords, making it easy actions to shoppers. Estimote is taking pre-orders at the price of to stick to a campaign budgets. Moasis ad rates typically run $99 for three beacons, but has yet to announce any retail trials. at $40 CPMs. Shopkick’s ShopBeacons run $40 per, and have been installed in Macy’s Midtown Manhattan and San Francisco locations for a trial 2. Thumbvista (thumbvista.com)“Thumbvista offers mobile marketing services for small business,” reads thumbvista.com, and initiative which allows Macy’s to track shoppers inside their store, their range of no-contract services including “Do It Yourself ” “wake” customers’ compatible phones upon entrance and send difTexting, “With or Without App” location based services and ferent offers at any given time based on the floor or department geofencing services start as low as $100.00 per month. Custom customers are in. projects and strategy consulting services are also available. 3. AdLeads (adleads.com) AdLeads is a service for geo-targeted in-app mobile ads. Retailers choose the neighborhoods, cities, states, or countries where they want their mobile ads to appear and use the ad builder tool to create their own ads in minutes. AdLeads funnels those ads to top mobile apps and businesses
Because of BLE’s range, it has been touted as an “NFC-killer” by many, but it’s all a matter of perspective. BLE beacons look like they’ll be a winner for large retailers with already-popular apps, or those that can invest in an app developed with BLE or beacon integration capabilities. If this is you, check it out.
The next frontier of retail is here, but it does not revolve around any one particular technology. Research and polls have been telling us for the past year that anything with the ability to engage a consumer with their smartphone or mobile device will be a winner. In the spirit of the new year, take a calculated risk by implementing one of these technologies into your retail operation…and don’t forget to share with RetailerNOW!
www.retailerNOWmag.com
JANUARY | 2014
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