Marketers have a huge advantage to leverage the “always connected” and “ready to shop” mindset to connect with relevant and helpful messaging.
(TRAVPR.COM) SWITZERLAND - November 30th, 2015 - Bojan Jokic, Co-founder and CEO of Epteca
Like any other industry, airports are seeing mobile devices becoming the most important digital gateway. Passengers can now navigate through airports and order food on the go, to make those tight connections. GPS technology, iBeacons, and services like Yelp, finding what you're looking for is no longer the guessing game it once was, so it’s important to design an engaging shopping experience at the airport.
iBeacon technology is the latest booming trend in mobile and proximity-based marketing. The technology connects businesses with nearby customers through Bluetooth low-energy transmitters (beacons), sending coupons, product demos, promotions, videos or information directly to their mobile device.
The possibilities are enormous and there has been a lot of discussion on the impact of this to retail. Using customer insights, retailers can determine what promotions travelers will want to be notified about based on preferences and retailer interests. Brands can even send targeted promotions to travelers before their trip and offer custom redemptions when they are close to a specific iBeacon at the airport or at their final destination.
According to inMarket study, use of beacons in retail stores delivered:
· a 19x increase in interactions with advertised products
· a 16.5x increase in app usage in-store
· and a 6.4x increase in app retention
“People keep shopping apps on their phones and might forget to use them in-store — so the beacon push reminds them ‘hey, you have this app that saves you time/money/rewards/etc.,’ and they appreciate that. The reminder wouldn’t be as effective unless the person was in a store, ready to shop.” - inMarket’s CEO Todd DiPaola.
Millennials love it, with 84% acting on push-notifications from these platforms, according to a new report from Retale. The study shows that 94% of millennials use location-based services through mobile. The same report indicates that 70% of millennial women want push notifications for an immediate-use offer, making it a great option for the travel industry who’s consumers are spending a limited time in airports and destinations.
Virgin Atlantic began an iBeacon trial in the Upper Class Wing at London’s Heathrow Airport, just over a year ago. The airline’s passengers received ready to be scanned boarding passes when approaching the security check, and later on tailored offers for in-flight entertainment before the departure. Virgin also leveraged the technology to let passengers know about in-flight specials before they boarded, and to let their staff know when temperatures dropped in airport lounges so they could bring blankets to passengers.
iBeacon and proximity-based marketing is not a fad. Top brands like Macys, Starbucks and American Airlines have already heavily invested in it, and are seeing the power and benefits of proximity-based marketing. With major players pushing the technology, we can soon expect to see more features added, such as on-the-spot mobile payments, making purchasing even easier for customers and driving more sales for airport businesses.
The opportunities seem to be limitless but how can travel brands and retailers manage them to maximize the potential? Clearly, consumers don’t want to be barraged by promotions on their way through the airport, but they do welcome offers that provide value to them. Marketers have a huge advantage to leverage the “always connected” and “ready to shop” mindset, but without being able to connect with relevant and helpful messaging, customers will very quickly get turned off by the advertising noise, and so will their apps.
About the Author
Bojan Jokic has been a disruptive force in the travel technology industry since 1997. Fueled by his passion for innovation, Bojan went on to build a market first b2b travel booking engine for a travel management company at age 29. By 39, Bojan was instrumental in creating Europe's first travel apps available on TV. Over the years, he has been the driving force behind multiple e-commerce solutions that are generating profitable revenues with millions of customers. Bojan studied air travel and transportation engineering and holds an MBA. He currently resides in Switzerland and serves as CEO and co-founder of Epteca, an emerging technology company bringing unique 'smart selling' marketplace ecosystem capabilities to companies and brands worldwide. Connect with Bojan on LinkedIn.
About Epteca (www.epteca.com)
By collectively building a Marketplace Ecosystem that brings together travel companies, suppliers of goods and services and customers, Epteca’s innovative platform creates new revenue opportunities and enhances the customer experience in all the phases of their journey. Using profile data and predictive algorithms that match context and intent, Epteca can accurately anticipate not only what customers require, but also what they are likely to want, need or do during their trip. This allows for ‘smart selling and marketing’ that taps into key sales points at the time when purchases are most likely to occur, to dramatically increase profits and create a positive brand relationship. Epteca delivers the right offering, presented to the right customer, at the right place and the right time, to sell more stuff - guaranteed.
To learn more, schedule a demo, or get started with Epteca’s Marketplace Ecosystem, please visit http://www.epteca.com.
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