Proximity Tech
Location is mobile, and as Benedict Evans at Andreessen Horowitz, a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley, puts it, ‘Mobile is eating the world.’ This staggering consumer shift to mobile has made the location the cookie of the real world, thus making it easier and more vital for businesses to take actionable decisions from, the data that is literally walking through its doors. According to a recent report by Markets and Markets, the Location-Based Services (LBS) market is expected to grow to $77.84 Billion by 2021.
It is no secret, that few industries have been disrupted by location-based services, the way the retail sector has. According to a survey by Boston Retail Partners, 53% of retailers plan to have the ability to identify customers via their smartphones, by the year 2020. These retailers would identify customers as soon as they walk into the store. That would be a staggering 883% increase over the 6% of retailers who already identify customers this way.
While all of this clearly drives in the need for marketers to optimize their campaigns to make the most of the power of location data, many marketers still haven’t wrapped their minds around how to go about it. Not surprising, given the wide range of location-based marketing solutions that are available today.
According to Proxbook’s Q1 2017 Report, beacons at 91% are still the most popular proximity marketing technology in the industry, followed by GPS/Geofencing at 58% and Wi-Fi at 35%. At the same time, a Forrester Research report predicted that next-generation Wi-Fi will reach 90% penetration over the next few years. In the midst of all of this, marketers are often confused on which location-based technology they should adopt to be future proof.
