Latest technology all for making shopping time less of a mission

AS the owner of a retail store, one of your main concerns should be how to better target and interact with your customer.

Everyone has tried his or her hand at the more traditional methods of marketing and the social networking option is always a must.

But now there is an even better form of marketing in the works. Enter Bluetooth Beacon technology. Place a Bluetooth Beacon on a store shelf, store wall or entrance and have your latest products, specials and competitions appear on a customer’s Bluetooth device (smartphones and tablets) as soon as they enter your store.

This technology will offer the following features:

ý Proximity – to grab customers’ attention outside a store or on a sidewalk

ý Check-in – a beacon just inside your store door could trigger a discount offering or similar products to ones your customer has purchased before

ý Product information – as a customer walks up to a product, more information about that product is sent to his/her phone.

ý Check-out – by registering their bank details with a store, a customer is charged for his or her products in their basket upon exiting the store.

No more need for tills or pay points.

The above makes perfect sense if one looks at market research conducted on smartphone usage. Customers keep their shopping lists on their phones, use their phones to locate stores and products and a select few use their mobile devices to pay for purchases.

Obviously shoppers’ main concerns are privacy and security. Merchants, banks and smartphone manufacturers are working closely to come up with the answer.

One thing is for sure though, finding a store, locating your product and paying for it quickly and easily will definitely make for frustration-free shopping. Expect to see more of this technology as new smartphones come out with Bluetooth Beacon support.

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Bradley Millar is a technology adviser and founder of futureTECH – offering personal support in Port Elizabeth and abroad. Visit www.bradleymil

lar.com for the latest tech news or to make an appointment.