“Pretty soon, your phone might remind you to pick up laundry detergent as you peruse the microbrews in the supermarket, just a couple of aisles away,” Barbara Ortutay reports for The Associated Press.
“Mobile shopping startup InMarket started using Apple’s in-store location technology, iBeacon, on Monday to send shoppers deals, rewards and grocery list reminders inside U.S. grocery stores to the 20 million people who use its apps,” Ortutay reports. “iBeacon, which works with Apple devices running iOS 7, is already being used inside Apple stores.”
“As of Monday, InMarket’s ‘Mobile to Mortar’ iBeacon feature is available in dozens of Safeway and Giant Eagle stores in Seattle, San Francisco and Cleveland,” Ortutay reports, “but InMarket says the number will grow to more than 150 in the next couple of weeks and thousands of stores, grocery and other types, by the end of 2014.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: As we wrote back on December 7th:
Apple’s Next Big Thing™ arrived in stealth mode right under everyones’ noses.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Arline M.” for the heads up.]
Related articles:
Apple’s iBeacons are creating a new market – December 30, 2013
Anybody else want an Apple ‘iServe home’ server with iBeacon accessories? – December 18, 2013
The Internet of iThings: Apple’s iBeacon already in 200 million iPhones and iPads – December 16, 2013
4 reasons why Apple’s iBeacon is about to disrupt interaction design – December 11, 2013
Apple could have 250 million iBeacon-capable units in the wild by 2014 – December 7, 2013
Apple turns on iBeacon to guide shoppers at 254 U.S. retail stores – December 6, 2013
Bar deploys Apple’s iBeacon to give patrons free access to Newsstand magazines – December 4, 2013
Macy’s becomes first retailer to deploy Apple’s iBeacon for in-store presence – November 20, 2013
Beyond retail: What’s next for indoor location tracking with Apple’s iBeacon – November 15, 2013
Apple’s location-tracking iBeacon is poised to explode across retail faster than anyone can imagine – October 25, 2013
Attention, retailers: With iBeacon, Apple has figured out mobile marketing – October 11, 2013
Apple’s iBeacon to deliver completely interactive experiences for fans at MLB stadiums – September 27, 2013
Apple’s amazing iOS 7: Three game-changers hidden in plain sight – September 26, 2013
Apple’s brilliant iBeacons system will enable purchases, contextual marketing, automated check-ins and much more – September 14, 2013
Apple’s NFC killer: iOS 7′s iBeacons – September 11, 2013
iBeacons may prove to be Apple’s biggest new feature for iOS 7 – August 29, 2013
Apple v. Android: Bang per watt – Apple’s massive advantage – August 13, 2013
This will become a major technology unless most uses turn out to be pushing advertising. That will turn people off. But what I’ve been reading Ina number of places make this seem exciting. Apple has wisely made this cross platform as well.
Apple did not make this cross-platform. The standard for Low Power Bluetooth extends to anyone who wants to implement it.
Yes but its Apple that has implemented it and done so in a way that is cross platform. Would have been pointless and self defeating not to have mind as there is a far Bigger picture.
But Apple has put iBeacons in all iPhones since the iPhone 4, and the cheap Androids are nowhere to be found, but now it’s Apple’s fault?
Fantastic! I’ll now be able to find the chicken legs in next to no time.
You don’t need iBeacons for that. Try looking underneath the chicken.
This is not of much interest to me, but I know a lot regular grocery shoppers will appreciate knowing what Specials or Sales are available. Taking BLN’s example, I wouldn’t mind knowing that Foster Farm’s chicken legs were available at 25¢ less per pound than Tyson’s.
..OR you could just write out a grocery list.
ya know, with a pencil and paper with your hands…then pull it outta your pocket at the store.
…OR ask your wife to pick it up while she’s at the store. Ya know, talk to a fellow human being, transfer that data via mouth to ear.
wait, with iBeacon you no longer require another human being. You have bluetooth texts tellin’ ya where your ass is located.
as Bernie noted:
You know you can’t hold me forever
I didn’t sign up with you
I’m not a present for your friends to open
This boy’s too young to be singing the blues
Would you prefer that we leave you alone with yourself?
what an apropos name you’ve created for yourself.
no, that’s not an old building in Athens.
I would be more excited if Apple released iBacon into grocery stores
slow news day; zero Mac content here.
this “next big thing” will rank right down there with all the predictions that NFC will enable your iPhone to replace your wallet. How’s the progress going there? uh huh. zero time saved, no widespread support. Just because it has an Apple sticker on its doesn’t mean it’s the next big thing.
Let’s hope Apple is still honoring Steve’s wishes regarding privacy. This could be used for far more than advertised.
As cordless electronic devices surround us more and more with RFs, the sensitive electronic human body will turn into a coil and people will emit sparks of voltage.