Survey: Consumers Ready For Indoor Location, Marketing

A new consumer survey by “iBeacon marketing platform” provider Swirl, which works with specialty retailers such as Alexi and Ani and Timberland, shows that consumers are ready for indoor location and marketing. Industry and retailer fears about consumer acceptance of indoor location tracking may thus be overblown.

It is true that consumers are concerned about who has access to their location data in the abstract. However when they receive clear value for sharing it they’re more than comfortable with doing so. 

According to the Swirl survey of 1,000 US adults, 85 percent of consumers have used some sort of mobile shopping app while in stores. Among those apps are a mix of different functions and content:

The survey found that 77 percent of respondents would be willing to share their location information if there was enough value in return. When it comes to trust around sharing location, retailers top the list followed by deal or shopping apps. Google and Facebook trail these others.

Consumers are potentially highly receptive to in-store notifications (provided they’re not abused), especially if they’re for deals. Eighty percent of respondents said they were interested in push notifications about sales and promotions.

The survey also argues that in-store notifications and offers have the potential (if relevant) to be much more effective than other types of online or email marketing.

These survey data show that if retailers and brands can get the user experience right, be respectful of consumers and deliver relevant information and promotions to in-store shoppers they have the potential to successfully engage and influence them at point of sale.

Multiple indoor technologies, including iBeacon, offer marketers and retailers the ability to deliver targeted messaging at the store and in some cases at the aisle level. This isn’t science fiction any longer; it’s happening.

And marketing at the point of sale takes the old search adage “ready to buy” to an entirely new level. (Notice I avoided the use of the phrase “on steroids”.)

Related Entries: 

• Alex And Ani Begins Full iBeacon Rollout To Track Visitors In Its Retail Stores
• Indoor Location Companies Announce Consumer Privacy Rules
• Report: Almost 90 Percent Concerned About Online Privacy & Trying To Avoid Advertisers
• Mobile And The Rise Of “Real World Analytics”
• Apple Driving Indoor Location Revolution With iBeacons In All Its 254 Stores