Ever since its inception in the mainstream tech cosmos, beacons technology market has been gaining widespread recognition, on account of the fact that beacons possess the exceptional ability to promptly send radio frequency signals to transmit information by notifying Bluetooth devices about their presence. Supported by high-grade technologies such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, digital signage, wireless charging, and the like, beacons have emerged as the go-to mechanism for most of the industrial verticals, by enabling location-based messaging functions for detecting mobile devices. On the grounds of its far-flung acclaim, numerous tech giants have been on their element in recent years, attempting to come up with a slew of innovative beacons that can be liberally deployed across the retail, tourism, financial, medical, hospitality, and real estate sectors. Bearing testimony to the aforementioned fact is Bluvision’s latest product release in beacon technology market.
Beacon Technology Market Share, By Application, 2016
Elaborating further, HID Global's beacon-based IoT division, Bluvision, has scarcely released a new product – the BEEKs Mini Tamper Proof Tag. A small-sized, compact, and affordable beacon, the Mini Tamper Proof Tag has been suitably designed to issue alerts when an attempt is made to detach it from the product it has been attached to. The beacon is touted to be an exceptional one that would commendably impel the product landscape of beacon technology industry. This incidence particularly validates the significance that beacons would have in the years ahead, aided by the backdrop of technologies such as BLE, ultrasound, and more. It is indeed prudent to mention that the BLE technology is slated to emerge as one of the most widely deployed ones in the market over 2017-2024, driven by its characteristics of lesser energy consumption, longer shelf life, and excellent operational efficiency.
As per estimates, nearly 570 million Apple and Android smartphones have been found to be compatible with BLE (Bluetooth low energy) technology – used by beacons in order to trigger smartphone apps. By the end of 2020 in fact, close to 8.4 billion BLE devices may be shipped to the Indian shores, driven by popular demand. On these grounds, it is arguably precise to state that BLE technology is one of the most prominent ones that is deployed to manufacture beacons, and will massively propel beacon technology market in the years ahead. In 2016 alone, BLE emerged as the dominant technology in the market with a mammoth share of more than 85%. In fact, Apple’s flagship product, the iBeacon, introduced in 2013, primarily functions on BLE, and had been introduced in more than 254 retail stores. The following year, rival beacon technology industry player, Google, launched the Eddystone, its first BLE beacon.
How beacon technology market trends will transform the retail sphere
The retail sector has been projected to emerge as one of the most lucrative end-use domains in beacon technology market. Undeniably, beacons have proved to be a godsend in the retail sphere, for the purposes of understanding customers, increasing staff engagement with customers, tracking staff efficiency, giving a real-time perspective of consumer behavior, and much, much more. Estimates claim that more than 45% of retailers have reportedly launched beacon programs in 2015, while more than 70% of retailers state that they have been able to track and better understand customers’ purchase patterns using beacons. In 2016, around 24% retailers apparently have witnessed a rise in sales and offer redemption. Beacons essentially aim to offer a rich digital shopping experience for consumers, owing to which retail behemoths such as Target and Walmart have confidently penetrated beacon technology market, having deployed these devices in their numerous retail stores for beaming coupons, product details, store maps, and promotions through their mobile apps. As per estimates compiled in Q2 2016, the valuation of in-store retail sales in the U.S., on account of beacon-triggered messages, amounted to USD 4.1 billion in 2015 and 2016. Beacon messages in fact, have been projected to generate sales of close to USD 44.4 billion in the U.S. alone, which are certain to impel U.S. industry trends in the years ahead.
Yesteryear data reveals that more than 40% companies have already penetrated market, having implemented proximity marketing campaigns, while around 39% state that they would implement it in the next three years. These statistics bear evidence to the fact that beacons are indeed slated to change the face of the retail space and shopping experience, positively impacting the overall market share.
With beacons enabling retailers to ensure vendor compliance, track vendor activity, and monitor deliveries, beacon technology industry outlook from the retail sector is certain to witness a massive change of dynamics. As per estimates, the retail sphere would emerge as the dominant end-use segment of beacon technology market in terms of revenue by 2024, driven by the huge adoption of this technology by retailers for efficiently implementing proximity marketing campaigns and enabling them to push customer-centric and location-specific marketing messages onto consumers’ mobile devices in real-time.
Whether beacons could dominate the future of wireless charging had been a rather debatable issue in the beginning, however, the tech realm has undergone a major change since the last four years, to the point where experts are nearly 100% affirmative regarding the transformative power of beacons and the increased commercialization scale of market. Making user engagement completely personalized and convenient, providing new consumer insights, and enabling retailers to usher in a new understanding of the business, beacons have been ruling the roost, inherently augmenting the revenue graph of industry. As the demand for these battery-powered transmitters observed an ascent across retail stores, airports, hospitals, hotels, academic institutions, corporate buildings, and the like, beacon technology market size is likely to surpass a valuation of USD 25 billion by 2024.