Largest retail beacon installation rolled out by Macy’s

The company is set to expand its partnership with shopkick, by activating in excess of 4000 shopBeacon devices across its stores by the end of September.

This is the future in retail.  When a person enters a store, goes through a display or enters a certain department, their phone lights up with deals and discounts which have been pre-programmed to pull them in and keep them there.  This is called beacon technology and is gaining popularity as traditional stores compete with online shopping.

The first iBeacon/BLE-based signal by shopkick was placed at a major retailer on 20 November, 2013.  It has been named shopBeacon and is running live in a closed beta trial at Macy’s Union Square, San Francisco, and Herald Square, New York.  ShopBeacon is able to welcome a shopper upon entering a store and indicate location-specific discounts, rewards, recommendations and deals, without the need to open the app.  It is also able to link at-home browsing to in-store benefits.  If the shopper ‘likes’ a certain product in the app, shopBeacon will send a reminder when entering the store where it is sold.  It is able to deliver offers that are linked to specific departments.  This implies that if a shopper has ‘liked’ a pair of shoes, it will send a reminder when in the ‘shoe’ department.

ShopBeacon does not need a huge investment and is easily installed by sticking the device on any flat surface.  It has a battery life of around five years.  The service is available nationwide and can be used with the shopkick app, which has 6 million plus shoppers, and also with apps owned by the retailer.