Beacons Beckon at Conexxus Annual Conference

Use of beacons is increasing exponentially said experts, benefitting both retailers and consumers.

May 04, 2015

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – While there was no shortage of technology innovation discussed at last week’s Conexxus Annual Conference – from advances in mobile payments and tokenization, to new approaches to cybersecurity, to the most granular in-store customer analytics – beacons won the day during the final sessions of the conference.

A full room of attendees enjoyed lunch while listening to a presentation by Gimbal’s Vice President of Business Development Rob Canterbury, discussing the theme of “Digital Discovery in the Physical World.” According to Canterbury, beacons should be implemented by companies “to solve pain points.” Gimbal helps its clients create an ecosystem to connect brands, advertisers, mobile apps, retailers and venues to deliver proximity-based communication in ways that benefit both the consumer and the merchant. (For more beacon background, read “The Beacon Breakthrough” in the October 2014 issue of NACS Magazine.)

Canterbury introduced a variety of real-world examples of beacons in use to facilitate any number of location-based solutions. In the fuel retailing industry, for instance, beacons could be placed on fuel dispensers to facilitate customer payment transactions, as well as facilitate targeted pumptop advertising – either for external CPG brands or to persuade customers to go inside the store. In many cases, explained Canterbury, those CPG brands are so eager to reach your customers that they effectively subsidize the retailer’s costs for beacon installation.

“Beacons should be used to create a customized experience,” shared Canterbury. “You should be using them to create a real-time dialogue that is relevant and providing something of value.”

One benefit of beacons – which, Canterbury clarified, are “simply one piece of the growing “Internet of things” – is that they can be inexpensive, low-maintenance and flexible to install. The devices  themselves can cost as little as $25 each and generally operate on standard AA batteries, with a battery-life of about 18 months. Many of the devices are built to withstand exterior conditions so they can be placed outside if necessary.

Following Canterbury’s presentation, the attendees heard a panel discussion with representatives of Gilbarco Veeder-Root, The Jones Company/Flash Foods and Koupon Media, sharing their unique experiences integrating beacons and other evolving technologies.

One issue that may be holding back faster adoption in these areas is privacy concerns, shared Jones Company’s CIO Jenny Bullard. Her fellow panelist, Brad Van Otterloo, vice president of client development for Koupon Media, reiterated that point: “Be very aware of the creepy factor,” he cautioned. For example, he suggests that merchants wait at least 45 to 60 days to trigger offers based on consumer behavior that is recorded via geolocation data.

In spite of these concerns, though, beacons and other location-based applications represent a hugely valuable opportunity for retailers. “Communication fuels the purchase cycle,” said Parker Burke of Gilbarco Veeder-Root. When it comes to fuel retailing, he emphasized that forecourt media can be a key form of communication, as the consumer fuel pump experience is often a retailer’s first opportunity to communicate with consumers. Retailers should take advantage of the evolving opportunities for store branding to drive consumer behavior, create advertising focused at the c-store consumer and produce entertainment to increase engagement.

The Conexxus Annual Conference took place April 26-30 in Annapolis, MD. For more coverage of the event, keep an eye out for the June issue of NACS Magazine.

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