Apple Passbook Usage, Beacons, and Mobile Intersection with Retail Stores

Three quick hits that are worth capturing for your reading.

First is a story on the opportunities mobile presents for traditional retail, the brick & mortar experience:

http://www.chainstoreage.com/article/three-ways-expanding-capabilities-mobile-devices-will-impact-retail

Here is a snippet from that piece:

...mobile devices are continuing to evolve. Increasingly, mobile devices are offering features that make it easier for retailers to position advanced computational and analytical power at the point of customer contact. Here are three ways upcoming changes in the capabilities of mobile devices will affect retail.

Next is usage data on mobile wallets that shows Apple's Passbook is the most used wallet out there, though no payments have been enabled within it yet:

http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com/apple-passbook-used-more-frequently-than-other-digital-wallets-report

Finally is a story on one usage of BLE Beacons/iBeacons and the success they are having:

http://www.adweek.com/news/technology/hillshire-brands-sees-20-jump-purchase-intent-beacons-159042

Here is a snippet from that piece:

Hillshire Brands and IPG Mediabrands-owned agency BPN are announcing an interesting case study today about how beacons (the devices set up in brick-and-mortar stores to trigger location-based offers) increased purchase intent and sales for American Craft link sausages. While marketers have hyped beacons for a while now, Hillshire’s campaign is one of the first proof points that back up the use of the in-store technology.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant