Beacons as a sales promotion measure

If a passer-by walks past the Guess poster, they receive a voucher via the Poinz app.Beacons have a wide range of possible applications. Retailers and stores can use them to connect their stationary trade with the online world. For example, customer flows can be measured or product placements optimized. It is also possible to target store visitors both online and in-store. Beacons allow retailers to offer their customers targeted, location-based advertising and information in real time as they pass through or enter the store - for example, individual offers or discounts.Purchasing behavior has changedThe founders of the loyalty app "Poinz" have also recognized this potential of technology. They believe that in a few years, 75 percent of the working population will be millennials. And their shopping behavior is strongly online-oriented. They not only compare local prices with other providers, but also share special offers with friends. The smartphone has become part of the shopping experience. It therefore makes sense not to exclude the online world, but to integrate it into sales promotion.Creating a new world"Retailers are probably facing the most fundamental challenge in recent history. Nevertheless, with a clever combination of special shopping experiences, a differentiated customer offering, the important 'human factor' and the latest technologies, they can create a world that a purely online store will find difficult to compete with," says Nicolas Egger, COO of Poinz GmbH.New paths for new customersThe Poinz team created such a world in collaboration with Swisscom and APG|SGA. In a two-week pilot project called "Guess why beacons", an interactive campaign was developed for the designer brand Guess. With the help of beacons, a different communication channel was to be used to attract new customers. "We also wanted to try out the beacon technology in reality in order to test possible added value for our partners and users on the one hand and, on the other, to gain experience of future possible applications," Egger explains.23 interactive postersFor the "Guess why beacons" pilot project, 23 APG|SGA poster sites in and around the Glatt center were equipped with a beacon bearing the Guess motif and drawing attention to the project. "The beacons sent certain signals based on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)," explains Egger. However, the beacons do not store any data. The technical basis for this application was the "Interact platform" launched by Swisscom last year. Poinz took over communication from the poster to the smartphone with its loyalty app. This not only enables digital points to be collected at various stores, but also serves as a communication channel.

The user can redeem the voucher immediately in the store.Voucher via appIn the "Guess why beacons" pilot project, passers-by with the Poinz app activated automatically received a voucher worth CHF 30 for the Guess store when they walked past an APG|SGA poster. However, the prerequisite for this was that the user actively allowed the Poinz app to access their location in advance.The advantages are obviousThe Poinz team is convinced that this project is the first of many. They believe that in the future, beacons will make in-store shopping as intelligent as cookies make online shopping. "Targeted marketing will be an issue at the POS, as this offers the opportunity to send consumers not just any vouchers based on certain patterns, but those that offer them added value - the Guess campaign is a step in this direction," says Egger. The team is currently still in the evaluation phase. "The scope of the project was kept to a manageable level; for example, we did not use any other communication channels to gain initial insights. We are therefore very satisfied with the 145 vouchers delivered and 23 redeemed," reports Egger.Author: Melanie Granados