BeaconStream, a proximity-based mobile marketing and advertising platform based on Apple’s iBeacon technology, will start piloting beacons in malls in Bengaluru and Chennai.
iBeacon is Apple trademarked technology for an indoor positioning system that runs on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), also known as Bluetooth Smart. The technology enables an iOS device or other hardware to send push notifications to iOS devices in close proximity. They can also be used by the Android operating system.
“After Apple introduced the technology, many vendors started manufacturing these devices. We are one of them, and we design the beacon and hold the intellectual property and manufacture it in Chennai,” said BeaconStream Chief Technology Officer Gautam Mandewalker. A Bluetooth-based beacon would cost between Rs.2,500 and Rs.3,000, and allowed proximity-based marketing directly to customers in the form of transmitting messages or prompts directly to a smartphone or tablet, he added.
Malls feeling heat from e-commerceAccording to Mr. Mandewalker, CitiCenter mall in Chennai, Gopalan shopping Mall in Bengaluru and Sigma Technology Park in Bengaluru will be doing the pilots in the next three weeks.
“ If a customer visits a mall, the beacon will alert about the proximity and the particular brand can send offers or run an immediate marketing campaign to convert that footfall into sales,” he added.
BeaconStream is also in talks with Titan for its Bengaluru stores, Reliance Trends and LifeStyle at CitiCentre to pilot the beacons.
“Malls are feeling the heat from e-commerce firms, which are beating them with targeted offers. So, malls are looking at beacons positively,” Mr. Mandewalker said.
