Proximity marketing boost

 

estimote-foundersJust received a text message offering you a special discount as you walk into a store? 

That message was probably sent by proximity marketing – a newer form of engagement that targets shoppers via wi-fi.

More than 45 Australian shopping centres and retail precincts are set to ramp up their proximity marketing via iBeacon.

iBeacons are signal transmitters that recognise smartphones via bluetooth and sends across marketing messages.

“iBeacons can help retailers capitalise on the increasing significance of instore mobile shopping,” says George Kaloudis of iBeacon’s company, DC4G.

Kaloudis told Inside Shopper the company is currently testing one form of the beacons, Estimote, at Mt Ommaney Shopping Centre in Brisbane.

Estimote works by sticking tiny sensors in a physical space, such as a retail store, that pump out messages to shoppers.

Shoppers only receive the messages if they have a specific smartphone app, lowering privacy concerns sometimes raised by proximity marketing.

The company is to roll out more beacons at the Sussex Centre in Sydney’s CBD and Neeta City Shopping Centre in Sydney’s Fairfield, as well as other wi-fi locations.

Not everybody is in raptures about proximity marketing.

Last year, Adelaide’s Rundle Mall was the target of community criticism, after it looked at installing a type of proximity marketing that could track shoppers’ movements.

“You would be able to see what’s entertaining people, where people are staying, what’s attracting them,” said Ian Darbyshire, CEO of the mall’s management authority, to the ABC last year.

Critics say this tactic is evasive because it targets a shopper’s personal phone and even data.

Supporters of the technology say there’s always ways for shoppers to opt out, and retailers have an obligation to tell shoppers that they’re connecting to their phones.

Kaloudis says the technology makes shoppers’ lives easier by giving them sale alerts or letting them pay via contactless payment.

“A customer doesn’t actually receive anything unless they opt in to an app or pass. Beacons don’t send anything. It’s a popular misconception that they do,” he said.

“They are similar to GPS geo-fencing, but more specifically for indoor areas and close proximity within 30m, where GPS is not useful.”

You have 7 articles remaining. Unlock 15 free articles a month, it’s free.