Best Reading of the Day - Entry 0065 iBeacon Effectiveness

Mobile Commerce Daily has another good write-up:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/apple-aims-to-drive-small-ticket-accessory-sales-via-initial-ibeacon-rollout

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Last week, Apple announced that iBeacons will be used all over the store for different sales and servicing needs. During a recent visit to the New York Apple flagship store on Fifth Avenue, it was clear that Apple’s focus is more on pushing consumers to buy low-cost accessory items versus bigger device sales.

The key takeaway in this article is probably the right one: without context or personalization this technology still isn't any better than previous tech with the exception of localization.

In other words, a company can begin using this technology immediately to help localize touch points throughout the store and that may solve some basic challenges for retailers.  However, without making the interaction meaningful to the customer this will not be nearly as effective as it might be.  The more you know about the person walking through the store and can make the messaging relevant to them the more effective your use of this technology will be.

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant