The company also believes that there is significant potential for "out of home" proximity advertising, with beacons starting to be rolled-out on buses, tubes and taxis, targeting locations which see high footfall. Beacons, which find the location of a smart device using BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy, or Bluetooth Smart) signals, use transmitters to push pertinent content and information to devices which have their Bluetooth enabled.
Juniper forecasts that almost 1.6 billion coupons will be delivered annually to consumers through beacon technology by 2020. This is up from just 11 million this year, as retailers seek to develop proximity marketing campaigns in and around their stores. In its report, Digital Retail Marketing: Coupons, Advertising & Consumer Engagement 2015-2020, Juniper Research has found that spend on digital retail marketing is set to increase from $174 billion (£119 billion) in 2015, to $362.1 billion (£248 billion) by 2020 – an increase of 108 per cent.
The research also revealed that more than 80 per cent of all coupons issued will be on mobile devices by 2020, as opposed to under 20 per cent on PCs and laptops. It also found that the impact of ad blocking technologies will see the equivalent of almost 10 per cent of global digital advertising revenues lost by 2020.
“Beacons are set to provide a boost to retailers, as we see major players promote instore offers and deals though mobile devices, targeting consumers whilst they are shopping,” said research author Lauren Foye. “Coupled with loyalty schemes and rewards, retailers have clear potential to monetise those setting foot in their stores, aiding in promoting more traditional bricks and mortar retail.”
