2015/8/14 1:02:18
Source: Web
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Bluetooth beacons are already helping
London's visually-impaired subway riders navigate the
Tubes, now they're going
to help shoppers find great deals at their local Target stores. The retailer
recently announced that it is implementing a pilot beacon program in 50 of its
stores. These beacons will send push notifications to shoppers phones whenever
they browse within range of the device, similar to the Tips system that Facebook is
working on.
In order to keep this system from
spamming customers, Target is requiring that shoppers first download and
install the Target iOS app (an
Android version is in development), then actively opt-in to receive the
notifications. What's more, the system is designed to push a maximum of just
two notifications per shopping trip with the rest of the deals appearing in the
app itself. That way customers can get the maximum number of deals without
becoming overwhelmed. Future iterations will reportedly feature the ability to
resort your shopping list as you browse so that you won't have to retrace your
steps to finish your shopping.
Stores in
Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis, New York City, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco
and Seattle have all been selected to participate. Target will reportedly use
data gathered from this pilot to fine tune the program ahead of a nationwide
rollout around the Holidays. Target did admit to TechCrunch that
it plans to harvest user data to "understand shopping trends and
preferences." Given that Target was recently hacked,
it will be interesting to see how many shoppers will be willing to not only
share their data with the company but also tool around its stores with their
Bluetooth radios on.
(Credit: Web)