Taking advantage of Apple's decision to embrace Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), US start-up Estimote has been showing off its Beacon technology, which allows retailers to communicate and interact with customers in-store.
Earlier this week, as part of the iOS 7 launch, Apple unveiled iBeacon, enabling Bluetooth-enabled devices to communicate with iPhones and opening up the potential of micro-location-based services to retailers.
Estimote is planning to tap the technology with its Beacon devices; small rock-like pieces of hardware that can be installed around shops to broadcast radio signals to customer phones.
Retailers can use Beacons to send tailored information such as product prices, photos and reviews to handsets that are in range, with the data changing as customers move through the store.
Businesses can also send coupons to customers and potentially accept payments using the technology as well as gain insight into shopping habits by using the location data picked up.
BLE is fast emerging as the new poster-child for mobile commerce, at the expense of NFC. Earlier this week PayPal unveiled its own Beacon offering, tapping into micro-location data to provide cashless and cardless shopping services to consumers handsets running the firm's mobile wallet applications.