Retail today runs on context: actual, in-the-moment understanding of where a shopper is, what they’re doing, and what they might need next. And few innovations deliver that level of precision like beacon technology.

Proximity marketing allows businesses to target potential customers based on how physically close they are to a specific location. As proximity marketing gains momentum, the global beacon market is exploding, from $22.7 billion in 2025 to a projected $718.6 billion by 2033. 

You can’t see it, but it’s everywhere: Starbucks is experimenting with mobile/location triggers; luxury hotels across North America and Europe are using beacons for keyless entry, concierge prompts, and frictionless check-ins; and modern retailers are layering beacons into aisle-level navigation, dwell-time analysis, product discovery, and VIP clienteling.

Ahead, you’ll learn how beacon technology works today, why it’s powering the next wave of proximity marketing, and how to get started. 

What is beacon technology in retail?

Beacon technology is a smart retail tactic where tiny, low-energy Bluetooth devices (BLE beacons) are placed throughout a store to detect when a shopper’s smartphone is nearby. When someone with your app (or a partner app) enters that Bluetooth radius, the beacon can trigger an action: anything from a personalized message to an automated workflow on the back end.

Beacon technology is already used by some of North America’s top retailers, including Macy’s, Target, Urban Outfitters, and CVS. 

The continued rise in popularity is expected to help reinvigorate brick-and-mortar retailers, offering customers customizable shopping experiences that can’t be replicated online.

How does beacon technology work?

A beacon sends a tiny Bluetooth signal, a smartphone listens for it, and an app interprets what that signal means.

Here’s the breakdown:

Beacons, smartphones, and apps: The essential trio 

Beacons transmit a small Bluetooth identifier every few milliseconds.

To complete the loop, you need:

• A beacon broadcasting a unique ID
• A smartphone detecting that ID via Bluetooth
• An app deciding what should happen in response

Then, when a shopper comes within range:

1. Their phone detects the beacon ID
2. The retailer’s app (or partner app) recognizes the ID
3. A workflow triggers: a notification, an offer, an aisle navigation, a staff alert, or a back-end action, like prepping an order

Understanding Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Beacons run on Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), a power-efficient variant of traditional Bluetooth designed for short bursts of data transmission. It’s perfect for tiny devices that need to run for months or years on a coin cell battery. 

That means:

• They don’t need constant charging. Most beacons run for a year or more on a small battery. You can stick them on a wall or a shelf and forget about them.
• You can use a lot of them without blowing your budget. Because they’re low power and inexpensive, retailers can place beacons across entrances, aisles, fitting rooms, and pickup counters.
• They’re precise. BLE works at short range, so you know where shoppers are in your store—not just “inside,” but “near the jackets,” “in the beauty section,” or “approaching pickup.”
• They don’t drain a shopper’s phone. BLE scanning uses so little power that most customers won’t even notice it running.

In the US alone, the BLE market is growing fast, from $2.34 billion in 2024 to a projected $9.05 billion by 2032. 

And more importantly: BLE doesn’t track people, it simply broadcasts a tiny ID number. Your app interprets that ID and decides what to do, like show product information or speed up pickup.

iBeacon vs. Eddystone: What’s the difference?

Two major beacon protocols dominate retail: iBeacon (Apple) and Eddystone (Google). They both use BLE, but they transmit different types of data and work better in different ecosystems.

Here’s the quick comparison:

Retailers often choose based on audience and use case. Many run hybrid deployments so both iOS and Android devices can interpret beacon signals consistently.

The benefits of beacons in retail 

Research from The Marketing + Media Alliance shows that beacons enable highly relevant, location-triggered mobile engagements that improve consumer responsiveness compared with generic push notifications, driving stronger engagement in context.

Here’s how proximity marketing technologies empower retailers: 

Hyper-personalized advertising

Beacons are basically location micro-signals, allowing you to deliver a personalized customer experience. GPS can tell you that a customer is at your mall, Wi-Fi can tell you they’re in your store, but a beacon tells you they’re at the denim wall, near the pickup counter, or walking past your holiday pop-up. 

Enhanced customer experience and in-store navigation

Beacons shorten the path to what the shopper actually wants. They power aisle-level navigation, notify staff when assistance is needed, guide customers toward curated collections, and streamline BOPIS/curbside workflows.

Richer customer insights and analytics

Because beacons track micro-movements—dwell time, traffic flow, product interaction zones—retailers get insight into what shoppers actually do versus what they say they do. This helps teams optimize merchandising, staffing, store layout, inventory placement, and promotional zones with evidence.

Increased mobile app engagement 

Beacons give your app a job to do. Instead of hoping customers open it on their own, in-store triggers create natural moments of engagement: product discovery, loyalty rewards, mobile checkout prompts, size-availability checks, and in-aisle inspiration.

This is phygital retail in action: the physical journey prompts digital interactions, and the digital data enhances the physical moment.

📚Recommended reading: Location-Based Marketing Tips for Small Business Owners

Examples of using beacons in retail to boost sales 

Walgreens understood early that mobile wasn’t just for “pre-purchase research.” Shoppers were already using their phones in store, they just weren’t using them to check out. 

Instead of pushing harder for mobile checkout, Walgreens redesigned its app to support how customers shop in-store. The new app features connect directly with in-store beacons, which ping a shopper’s phone as they pass specific displays. In response, the app surfaces relevant prompts—coupons, limited-time deals, or product information—right when the customer is standing in front of the item.

And while every retailer uses beacons differently, the underlying idea is to meet the shopper where they are and make their next step easier. Here are some practical ways you can use beacons:

• Offer discounts and deals. Set up discount alerts to fire after a potential customer has been in your store for 20 minutes. You might catch them before they decide to leave by sending personalized messages or offers. 
• Show product availability. Notify in-store customers if a product they’ve added to their online cart is available to buy in-person. 
• Explain product location. If you have a larger store, you can help shoppers find what they’re looking for by connecting their shopping list to a map of your store. 
• Boost customer loyalty. Encourage people who enter your retail store to check in on social media to earn loyalty points.
• Improve store layout. With information about how customers move through your store, you can make visual merchandising and store layout improvements. 
• Increase foot traffic. Combine Bluetooth beacons with geofencing to attract more people to your retail store. Geofencing is for larger distances and complements Bluetooth proximity marketing. Use geofencing to first attract nearby app users to your retail store, then engage with them through beacons once they’re inside. 

How to implement a beacon strategy in 5 steps

Beacons work best when they support a clear retail moment. Here’s how to implement proximity marketing with them. 

1. Define your goals and use case 

Begin with a moment in the customer journey that feels confusing or full of missed opportunities.

Ask yourself:

• Where do shoppers slow down, hesitate, or walk away?
• Where do they need more information but can’t find a staff member?
• Which areas of the store feel underutilized?
• Where could a timely nudge (availability, sizing, deals) help someone decide faster?

Then, translate that moment into a beacon use case:

• Better product discovery. Trigger content when someone stands near a new collection.
• Higher conversion. Send a “Still interested?” offer when someone lingers in a category.
• Smoother pickup. Alert staff when a mobile-order customer arrives.
• Less frustration. Surface aisle directions for items on a shopper’s list.

2. Choose your beacon hardware and platform

This step is less about comparing technical specifications and more about understanding how your store operates day to day.

A good place to start is by thinking about the physical environment. Every store has natural touchpoints: entrances, endcaps, seasonal displays, fitting rooms, pickup counters—where customers pause, look around, or make decisions. Effective beacon deployments build around these moments. 

For example, small battery-powered beacons may work well near display tables or shelving, while long-range or plug-in units might be better suited for high-traffic entry areas.

Next, consider how hands-on you want to be with maintenance. Some retailers prefer low-touch beacons that run for a year or more on a single battery, while others choose plug-in or USB-powered options because they fit naturally into existing store fixtures. 

The same is true for software. Many retail teams benefit from choosing a provider that offers both the physical hardware and the management platform, so everything can be configured from one dashboard.

These companies are widely used in retail, hospitality, logistics, and large venue environments:

• Kontakt.io: Offers hardware plus a cloud platform; strong in wayfinding, occupancy analytics, and retail deployments.
• Estimote: Offers proximity beacons, location beacons, and stickers; developer-friendly tools and a strong software development kit (SDK) ecosystem.
• BlueCats: Offers beacons, tags, and a cloud management layer; often used in multilocation deployments; strong device management and telemetry. 

3. Integrate the SDK with your mobile app 

This typically involves integrating the provider’s SDK so the app can “listen” for beacon signals and respond.

For most retailers, this isn’t a heavy engineering lift. The SDK simply gives your app the ability to recognize when a customer is near a specific beacon and connect that location to an action—such as displaying product information, offering a loyalty reward, or notifying staff that a pickup customer has arrived. 

This is also a good moment to think about permissions and transparency. 

Customers generally respond well when they understand why an app is asking for Bluetooth or location access, and when those permissions clearly improve their in-store experience. A short, friendly explanation inside your app, something as simple as “We use Bluetooth to help you find products and receive relevant offers while you shop,” goes a long way toward building brand trust.

4. Deploy and configure your beacons 

Here, you want to bring the technology into your physical space in a way that feels natural to your shoppers.

• A helpful starting point is to walk through your store as a customer would. Notice where people pause, where they compare products, where they look uncertain, and where they tend to ask staff for help. An arrival beacon near the entrance might welcome loyalty members or prepare a pickup order, while a beacon near a high-interest display could surface product details or reviews. 
• Once you’ve identified these zones, configure the tech. This includes adjusting the signal strength so that each beacon covers the intended area without spilling into another, confirming that triggers activate at the right distance, and checking that the experience feels appropriately timed.
• Finally, think about long-term care. Beacons are low-maintenance devices, but labeling them, tracking battery health, and keeping a simple placement map ensures they continue to support the customer journey without interruptions.

5. Create your campaigns and measure return on investment 

The final step is deciding what you want your beacons to do. The simplest approach is to build a few small campaigns that make the shopping experience feel smoother or more helpful.

Start with moments that already matter to your customers, such as:

• Sharing reviews or product details when someone pauses at a display
• Reminding loyalty members about points or perks when they walk in
• Surfacing in-store availability for items they’ve browsed online
• Giving pickup customers a quicker handoff by notifying staff as they arrive

👉Your rule of thumb: If an interaction doesn’t make the visit easier, it probably isn’t worth triggering.

As these campaigns run, pay attention to the signals your store gives you:

• Are people spending more time engaging with certain products? 
• Are pickup lines moving faster? 
• Are loyalty redemptions increasing because members get reminders at the right moment?

From there, you can refine your timing, adjust placement, or expand into new parts of the store.

💡Pro tip: Shopify Analytics lets you track changes in store traffic patterns, product engagement, loyalty redemptions, or pickup efficiency to understand whether a beacon-triggered interaction is having the intended effect.

Moving forward with beacons in retail

Beacon technology has the potential to revolutionize customer communications for brick-and-mortar retailers. Shoppers can enjoy more engaging, seamless, and personalized experiences while you gain customer insights—ultimately making it easier to achieve a number of business goals using a single piece of retail technology.