Shelfbucks, Menasha partner on iBeacon tech platform
AUSTIN, Texas — Menasha Packaging has teamed up with Shelfbucks, an in-store beacon promotion and Smart Display platform, to transform how retailers and consumer packaged goods companies engage with customers via a beacon-based platform that brings the power of the Internet to shelves and displays.
The technology currently is being tested in GameStop stores with plans to continue a nationwide deployment into 2015. Its application, however, can elevate the in-store experience of any retailer — regardless of channel.
“When we think about Shelfbucks, we see it as a way for retailers — regardless of the channel — to create a unique one-to-one relationship with their shopper through the combination of applying existing technology, low intensity bluetooth, or BLE, (i.e., smart-phones — either Droid or IOS hand sets) and smart app writing that allows retailers and brands to deploy this technology quickly and cost effectively,” Paul Murphy, senior director of retail sales and new business development at Menasha Packaging Co., told DSN. “The Shelfbucks system requires virtually no cap ex on the part of retailers and is based on a shopper pull focus to more intimately engage shoppers in store on the shopper’s terms.”
Shelfbucks uses Beacon devices, installed on retailers’ store shelves, to provide an enhanced shopping experience for customers. A shopper browsing a product area interacts with Shelfbucks Beacons using a smartphone, and can immediately access expert content, promotional offers, ratings and reviews, and relevant data on nearby products. Shelfbucks helps eliminate the need for additional online research and showrooming, while saving shoppers time and delivering an improved shopping experience.
The new Menasha displays incorporate the Shelfbucks iBeacon-based Smart Display platform into brand POP merchandising to provide an enhanced experience for shoppers, while enabling brands and retailers to measure in-store shopper behavior. The new displays enable brands to determine how in-store POP displays perform compared with the brand’s goals, providing the opportunity to adjust in-store promotions with unprecedented speed and accuracy.
“The Menasha partnership with Shelf-bucks will deliver the industry’s first Smart Displays. Smart Displays will change the game for brands and retailers who want to really understand their consumer and shopper, and help drive higher sales rates at the most important point on the path to purchase in store. The approach will allow brands and retailers to deliver a cost effective way to take shoppers from today’s 2-D display world into tomorrow’s 3-D interactive world,” Murphy said. “The Menasha-Shelfbucks Smart Display will allow shoppers to access product information, ratings and reviews, consumer offers and give retailers and brands insights into their customers they have never had before.”
When asked about Shelfbucks’ early learnings, Erik McMillan, CEO of Shelfbucks, said that preliminary feedback from customers has been extremely positive, and he pointed to last year’s rollout of the iBeacon promotion platform in Austin’s Tarrytown Pharmacy, one of 3,500 stores in the Health Mart national pharmacy chain, as an example of how it could work in a drug store environment.
Shoppers browsing the pharmacy can interact with Shelfbucks using their iPhone or Android smartphones and instantly receive real-time offers and coupons on nearby products via the retailer’s app. Shoppers can then immediately redeem their special offers at the cashier, thus eliminating the need for clipping coupons, online research or showrooming, while saving time and enjoying a superior shopping experience.
“In these early days of the in-store digital revolution, real-world testing and rapid learning are allowing Tarrytown Pharmacy to determine which initiatives deliver true business value,” said McMillan. “At Shelf- bucks, we believe that there is no substitute for live, business-focused trials that measure shopper acceptance and retail value generation on a small scale. Thus far, Shelfbucks has generated more than 10,000 impressions for brands with a redemption rate in the 35%-to-40% range.