Apple’s iBeacon was probably one of the most important iOS 7 features unveiled at WWDC, and it’s already being utilized in interesting ways. Steve Cheney, head of business at GroupMe (acquired by Skype) who has experience with marketing software and systems-level solutions to Google and Apple, shares his thoughts on how iBeacon will transform local commerce and retail at the point of sale.
Essentially, iBeacon leverages Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for more precise location-targeting and geo-fencing possibilities than GPS, Wi-Fi or NFC. BLE can be used by retailers to trigger events, ads or alerts, for instance. The potential boon for location-based marketing is enormous.
Cheney digs more into iBeacon and how retailers can use beacons to precisely locate and target iOS 7 users with pertinent information. iBeacon also shows that Apple does, indeed, have a local strategy.
“iOS7 and iBeacon create an ecosystem-wide network effect overnight, with standard technology, offered in an open development environment,” Cheney writes. “It’s very clear that Apple is starting to put the pieces together to allow consumers to make offline transactions with their device – imagine being in a store and authorizing a payment with your fingerprint and never talking to a salesperson. All Apple has to do is open its payment APIs to get to this level, the rest of the stack is already being exposed.”
That said, there are plenty of non-commerce-related uses for iBeacon, including home automation, smarter notifications and enhanced indoor tours.
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