Why Retailers Should Choose Beacons Over Other Technologies for Interacting with Shoppers?

Mixing business and pleasure might not be the most prudent thing to do, but the same cannot be said when it is business and technology.

Especially when in the retail business, instilling the tech can work in ways more than one in securing a sound customer base, and in the process, help make more profits. It is through this technology that the retailer establishes communication with the shoppers via their smartphones. A great deal of information including product description, offers, sales, etc. can be relayed to the customers with the help of these technologies.

Now, there are two distinct types of technologies currently available for the common retailer, viz. beacon and wi-fi. With retailers constantly on the lookout for opportunities to engage customers in the most engaging and the most profitable way possible – these technologies can proffer him/her with the golden ticket. So while it is still debatable as to which technology is better than the other, this article will tell you why beacon retail solutions have evolved as an emerging market leaving other technologies behind.

• Provides More Security than Wi-Fi
  The beacon technology is nothing but an advanced form of the transmitter. Using radio signals as the medium of communication, this particular technology secures the user against any form of cyber threat such as virus or malware. As a matter of fact, it is one of the most secure technologies around. The retailer can connect the users’ smartphones via Bluetooth, the latest fad in beacon technology, and can transmit all the relevant information including product descriptions, best prices, sale offers, maps for different stores and more.


• Engages Only the Target Audience
  Beacon technology has a shorter transmission range compared to wi-fi, but then again it is the retailer who benefits from this feature. Users connected through beacons can receive updates and notifications on products only when they are inside the store. Because of this very fact, customers stop receiving messages as soon as they walk out of the store to hang out for a while in the parking lot – in short, no irritating notifications once they are out. Moreover, shorter the range means less analytics to collect. Someone with the app in their phone, who drives by the mall with no intention to shop, won’t be bothered. While other technologies will collect data from smartphones of all people in range, beacon technology provides only real-time customer info.


• Stands Out in Terms of Reliability
  As has been said earlier, beacon technology works using radio/electrical signals whereas wi-fi usually needs the internet for connectivity purposes. A beacon connection won’t be down unless there is any external interference, but the same cannot be said about wi-fi. The latter technology won’t work when the internet is down, resulting in loss of sales – a particularly bad option for stores located in areas where internet connection is unstable.

In a nutshell, beacon retail solutions indeed make good on the promise of a multi-faceted interaction with consumers. Beacons allow the retailer to deploy them as part of an omnichannel strategy. Above all, beacons are secure and reliable and totally serve the purpose – multiply the profit influx – which is what a business is all about.