“Half the money I spend on advertising (in the broad sense of marketing, customer engagement, etc.) is wasted, the trouble is, I don't know which half - J.Wanamaker”. Using iBeacon technology, retailers can now target the right shopper, in the right place, at the right time, interactively engaging her in new ways, while learning in real-time from her movement patterns and behaviour.

1. iBeacon technology introduction
Focus on Retail
Version 1.1
Author: Andy Cavallini
(andy.cavallini@gaia-matrix.com )
For the latest version of this document and for additional
content about iBeacon technology, please visit
http://www.gaia-matrix.com
Feel free to download the “iBeacon Bible”, a valuable
whitepaper about iBeacon technology from
http://www.gaia-matrix.com
1

2. iBeacon technology introduction
Table of Content
Pain-point  Solution  Effects
Micro-location & Interaction
Distances: ranges/regions
Let’s Recap
Hardware & Software support
Conclusion
2

3. iBeacon technology introduction
Pain-point  Solution  Effects
Pain-point
Remember the wise words of John Wanamaker?
“Half the money I spend on advertising(*) is wasted, the trouble is,
I don't know which half”
(*): in the broad sense of marketing, customer engagement, etc.
John Wanamaker,
father of modern
advertising and a
"pioneer in marketing"
Solution
Using iBeacon technology, retailers can now target the right shopper, in the right place, at
the right time, interactively engaging her in new ways, while learning in real-time from her
movement patterns and behaviour
Effects
iBeacon technology can greatly change how brands and companies
interact with customers and improve their shopping experience
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4. iBeacon technology introduction
Micro-location & Interaction
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iBeacon-enabled Apps are notified when the
Mobile device moves in and out of range
of iBeacons, allowing:
•
precise, indoor geo-location
(often called “Micro-location”)
•
contextual interaction/engagement
iBeacons broadcast a
“I am here!” message
approx. once per second
using Bluetooth Low
Energy standard
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3
Proximity to a specific iBeacon can
trigger some App functionality to
perform a specific action on a specific
Mobile device, at exactly a specific
time and in a specific location
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Interaction and engagement
can be furthermore improved
if the App is able to connect to
the Net, for example to fetch the
shopper’s shopping history, etc.
Start
iBeacons are tiny,
low-cost,
battery-operated,
wireless
transmitters
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5. iBeacon technology introduction
Distances: ranges/regions
iBeacon-enabled
Mobile App
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6. iBeacon technology introduction
Let’s Recap (1/2)
Traditionally, shopper-behaviour can be
realistically deducted only at the end of the
shopping process, at payment time, when
the loyalty-card and all purchased items
are scanned by the cashier
The big deal with
iBeacon technology:
Acquiring a wealth of information on in-store shopping
behaviour prior to purchase in real-time
Engaging the shopper with timely customized content and
marketing initiatives related to specific products, when the
shopper is in front of those products
Integrating different sales-channels, improving shopping
experience (for the shopper) and processes (for the retailer),
regardless if purchasing takes place online or offline (in-store)
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7. iBeacon technology introduction
Let’s Recap (2/2)
Traditionally, shopper-behaviour can be
realistically deducted only at the end of the
shopping process, at payment time, when
the loyalty-card and all purchased items
are scanned by the cashier
The big deal with
iBeacon technology:
Acquiring a wealth of information on in-store shopping
behaviour prior to purchase in real-time
A shopper has checked an item
in-store but did not purchase it;
the retailer can offer the
shopper a discount via email or
directly on her smartphone the
next time she enters the same
store (or another store of the
same chain)
Real-time A/B testing
can be run in-store
(it’s a method very dear
to online marketers that
allows to directly
compare the results of
different marketing
initiatives)
Engaging the shopper with timely customized content and
marketing initiatives related to specific products, when the
shopper is in front of those products
Integrating different sales-channels, improving shopping
experience (for the shopper) and processes (for the retailer),
regardless if purchasing takes place online or offline (in-store)
The retailer can gather, for
instance, if the shopper
visited the same store or
other stores of the same
chain, which
shelves/items she
checked there, if she
previously went online on
the retailer's website to
check out the same or
different items, and so on.
Abandoned
online
shopping-cart
follow-up can be
a realistic
opportunity for
brick-and-mortar
stores
Evaluate and
act on
conversion-rates
to maximize
ecommerce and
in-store sales at
the same time
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8. iBeacon technology introduction
Hardware & Software support
Both Apple (with iOS and OS X) and
Google (with Android) have committed
to support for Bluetooth Low Energy
(BLE).
This means very broad availability
(literally millions of devices are
already iBeacons-enabled) and no
danger of launching services that
only target a single OS
What about Microsoft?
Microsoft appears to have recently
added support for BLE in Windows 8
and Windows Phone 8.
Nokia's recent Lumia WP8 phones are
confirmed to include BLE hardware
Apple’s iOS/OS X
The following iDevices (running at least iOS 7)
are supported: iPhone 4S or later, iPad 3 or
later, any iPad mini, iPod touch 5th generation
or later.
Macs (equipped with at least OS X 10.9
Mavericks): mid-2011 MacBook Air, Mac mini,
mid-2012 MacBook Pros.
Earlier Macs can add Bluetooth 4.0 support
through a third party USB dongle
Google’s Android
The first version of Android supporting
iBeacons is 4.3 (Jelly Bean).
Many Android devices already support BLE:
Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy Note II,
HTC One, Nexus 7 2013 edition, Nexus 4,
HTC Butterfly, Droid DNA, etc.
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9. iBeacon technology introduction
Conclusion
iBeacon technology is very powerful and
flexible, so we (engineers, marketers,
creatives, etc.) have the opportunity to create
new important applications to improve the
life of people and to create business value
for big and small companies
Some final notes:
For the latest version of this document and for additional
content about iBeacon technology, please visit
http://www.gaia-matrix.com
Feel free to download the “iBeacon Bible”, a valuable
whitepaper about iBeacon technology from
http://www.gaia-matrix.com
Don’t hesitate to contact Andy Cavallini, the author of this
document, via email: andy.cavallini@gaia-matrix.com
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