????這些消息嚴格按照地理位置發送，只有幾百名持票的觀眾收到了這些信息，而且僅當他們身在球場里時才會收到這些信息。根據積極的初始反饋，邁阿密海豚隊的營銷部門正在計劃與一些早期用戶會面，以便明確自己的未來戰略。霍華特說：“我們很清楚，這是一個我們想要整合進來的東西。”

????根據ABI Research公司的統計，除了iBeacon之外，還有十多個不同的技術也在爭奪市場份額。ABI分析師帕特里克?康諾利在一份最新的報告中寫道：“我們認為Wi-Fi和iBeacons這類基于基礎架構的技術會呈現巨大的增長，另外低功耗藍牙技術的應用預計到2015年將突破2萬，基中大部分集中在零售業。到2018年，超過8億部智能手機將會積極使用室內地理位置應用，屆時，它會像今天的GPS一樣成為標準配置。”

????對于零售商來說，這種新型的地理位置探測應用不僅能帶來額外的收入，同時也可以提供更加詳細的關于個體購物者以及他們的購物習慣和產品偏好的信息。

????梅西百貨采用的技術來自一家名叫Shopkick的新銳公司。根據Shopkick公司自己的估算，2013年它為合作伙伴貢獻的銷售額超過了5億美元，是2012年的兩倍。目前，它的用戶群體已經超過650萬人，有70%的用戶是女性，其中最典型的是那些30多歲事業小有成就的年輕母親。Shopkick的共同創始人、CEO西里亞科?洛丁指出：“只要能讓他們進門，就有很大的機會賣出東西。”

????現代社會中，人們每天都要接受大量信息的轟炸，不堪其擾，那么人們憑什么要選擇這樣一個基于地理位置的營銷應用呢？——更惶論是在這個人人談隱私色變的時代。顯然，它離不開讓消費者成為忠誠顧客的老辦法，那就是物質激勵。

????Shopkick會獎勵用戶一種叫做“kick”的電子貨幣。它既可以兌換成禮品卡，也可以換成商品等其他物品。用戶在貨架間流連時會收到來自150多個合作品牌的產品提醒，比如寶潔（Procter & Gamble）、聯合利華（Unilever）、蒙大利茲（Mondelez）、歐萊雅（L'Oreal）、露華濃（Revlon）、百事（Pepsi）、通用磨坊（General Mills）、惠普（Hewlett-Packard）等。

????只有當某個人接近某個特定商品，或是他看起來想要進入一個特定的屋子時，他才會收到這種信息。市場人員最不希望的就是這種應用成為人們討厭的東西。洛丁說：“知道某個人正在接近和知道某個人已經在這里了，兩者之間有很大的區別。”

????除了梅西百貨之外，美國鷹牌服飾也在波士頓、芝加哥、達拉斯、休斯敦、洛杉磯、邁阿密、紐約和舊金山等地的100多家門店里安裝了Shopkick系統。百思買（Best Buy）、Crate and Barrel、歐迪辦公（Office Depot）、J.C. Penney、老海軍（Old Navy）、塔吉特百貨（Target）和Sports Authority等品牌也要么已經安裝了這些系統，要么正打算在今年安裝這些系統。美國另一大零售商Kmart也正在測試由Pikato公司提供的一套類似的系統，用它來向移動設備提供優惠券和其他激勵。另外還有200多家Safeway和Giant Eagle的門店正在與inMarket公司一道投資這項技術。

????這些信號發射器的安裝相對來說很容易。比如邁阿密海豚隊只需要不到一天的時間，就可以在陽光生活體育館的墻上安裝５０個發射器。另外它們的成本也很低廉，高通這個產品的價格只有5到10美元，但具體取決于信號傳播的距離和電池壽命（一般在1到3年之間）；其他公司的產品價格也無非就在40美元左右。

????盡管如此，許多公司在采用這項技術時還是非常慎重，不僅僅是由于這項技術所需要的移動設計工作和后臺技術的集成非常復雜，另一方面也是由于對消費者隱私的高度敏感。比如邁阿密海豚隊目前正在與一家移動開發商進行會商，以確定合適的營銷目標，同時劃定一條收集信息的紅線。霍華德說：“最難的部分是理解具體的執行。這項技術必須要有相關性。”（財富中文網）

????譯者：樸成奎

????

????These messages were geofenced: Only a few hundred season ticketholders chosen for the test received them and, even then, only if they were actually in the stadium. Based on positive initial feedback, the Dolphins marketing organization is planning to meet with some of the early users to define its future strategy, Howard says. "We know that this is something we want to integrate into our experience," she says.

????Alongside iBeacon are more than 10 different technologies competing for mindshare, estimates ABI Research. "We see huge growth for infrastructure-based technologies like Wi-Fi and iBeacons, with [Bluetooth Low Energy] deployments forecast to break 20,000 by 2015, largely focused on retail," writes ABI analyst Patrick Connolly in a new report. "With over 800 million smartphones actively using indoor location for applications by 2018, it will be as standard as GPS is today."

????For retailers, this new breed of location-sensing applications can be both a source of additional revenue and a means of collecting far more specific data about individual shoppers, their habits and their product preferences.

????One high-profile startup in the sector and the company behind the Macy's deployment,Shopkick, estimates its technology drove $500 million in sales to partners during 2013. That's twice the amount it influenced during 2012. Within its 6.5 million-user-plus demographic, 70% of shopkick members are women; the typical user is a thirtysomething mother. "If you get them through the door, you stand a very good chance of making a sale," says Cyriac Roeding, co-founder and chief executive of the Redwood City, Calif.-based company.

????Given all the information that bombards the average person daily, why would someone opt in for location-based marketing messages -- especially amid this age of heightened privacy concerns? Apparently, the same motivation that drives people to join customer loyalty programs: incentives.

????Shopkick rewards shoppers with a type of digital currency, called "kicks," that can be redeemed toward gift cards, products, or other items. As a Shopkick member browses, he or she receives alerts about products from more than 150 brand partners: the likes of Procter & Gamble, Unilever, Mondelez, L'Oreal, Revlon, Pepsi, General Mills, and Hewlett-Packard.

????Someone is only bothered when he or she is near a specific item or if it looks like they might be enticed to visit a certain department. The last thing marketers want is for these apps to become a nuisance. "There is a big difference in knowing that someone is close and knowing someone is here," Roeding says.

????Aside from Macy's, the Shopkick system is being installed at more than 100 American Eagle Outfitter locations in major cities including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco. Other stores that have deployed systems or plan to do so this year include Best Buy, Crate and Barrel, J.C. Penney, Office Depot, Old Navy, Target, and the Sports Authority. A similar system offered Pikato is being tested by Kmart to deliver coupons and other incentives to mobile devices. And more than 200 Safeway and Giant Eagle grocery stores are investing in the technology, in collaboration with inMarket.

????Beacons are relatively simple to install. For example, it took the Dolphins less than a day to scatter and stick 50 of them onto walls at Sun Life Stadium. They are also relatively cost-effective: Qualcomm's models range from $5 to $10, depending on transmission intervals and battery life (anywhere from one to three years); others are priced around $40.

????Still, most organizations are proceeding with caution not just because of the mobile design work and back-end technology integration required but because of sensitivity over consumer privacy. The Dolphins, for example, are consulting with a mobile developer to develop appropriate marketing goals and to decide where to draw the line on collecting information. "The hard part is understanding how to execute," Howard says. "The technology has to be relevant."

????