NEW YORK – When Apple unveiled iBeacon with its iOS 7 devices, many analysts jumped up to say that the feature, which uses Bluetooth 4.0, a location based technology, is the next big thing in technology.

Comments on CNBC’s “Mad Money” from Nigel Travis, chairman and CEO of Dunkin' Brands, suggest that the company's focus on beacon technology could set it apart from rivals. "I'm big on new technology, and I really think there's a big opportunity there," he told the news program.

Beacon technology allows retailers to send highly targeted messages to smartphones and tablets by pinpointing a user’s exact location. Travis commented that the donut chain is looking at ways the technology can eliminate customers waiting in line, or keep waiting time as short as possible.

PYMNTS.com notes that Bluetooth low energy (BLE) and beacon technology have “gained more traction and momentum in the last 2 years than NFC [Near Field Communication]” has in the last 10 years, and that more merchants are adopting beacon technologies.

“GE is even embedding beacons into LED lighting and it’s reported that Walmart will be the first to give that a go. Apple’s Passbook is enabled to work with beacon too, pushing coupons saved in Passbook to the consumer’s screen for easy access. Leveraging a cloud-based mobile payments scheme to enable payment via those bar codes, well, it just seems like the rail tracks that they have been laying for the last couple of years,” writes the news source.

Meanwhile, Brandchannel.com reports that drugstore chain Duane Reade begain testing Apple’s iBeacon in its New York stores in May, delivering relevant weekly ads and coupons to smartphone users who have opted-in to the service, based on their location. “iBeacons help remove some of the obstacles of engagement and facilitate customer interaction,” Tim MacCauley, mobile commerce director for Walgreen, told Adweek.

Many national retailers and CPGs are also familiar with ShopKick, an app that deployed the first iBeacon/BLE-based presence signal at a major retailer on November 20, 2013.

For convenience stores, beacon technology could encourage gas-only customers to come inside the store, because the retailer would know when a customer is fueling up. 

Radius Networks CEO Marc Wallace commented earlier this year in the Washington Post that customers fueling at the pump provide c-stores “the perfect chance to offer a discount on a sandwich or drink … It’s value to you and value to the convenience store because you’ve now pulled them into the store to purchase something.”