39% of shoppers always open to offers via smartphone Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

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39% of shoppers have their smartphone’s Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability switched on when they go shopping, giving retailers a huge opportunity to send them personalised offers as they come through the door, a survey by Vista Retail Support has found.

The survey, covering attitudes to beacon technology, found that the vast majority (83%) said they wanted to receive discount codes, while 61% wanted offers tailored to their personal preferences. A similar proportion (59%) wanted cashback offers on purchases. More than a third (35%) liked the idea of being given fast-track checkout privileges in exchange for downloading apps that allow smartphones to receive beacon notifications.

“These results show that more than a third of all shoppers are connected and open to offers from retailers with beacon technology,” said James Pepper, technical director, Vista Retail Support. “We know from the survey that if retailers get it right and don’t irritate shoppers with too many notifications, they stand to reap the rewards of greater engagement, particularly where younger shoppers are concerned.”

The poll revealed that most consumers (54%) want to receive just one notification on their phone, as they enter a store. However, 13% are happy to receive up to five.

“You don’t have to be a neuro-surgeon to see what consumers want from beacon notifications,” added Pepper. “There is genuine demand for discounts, cashback and personalised offers. It’s time for retailers to listen to what customers want or risk putting off more than they attract by sending out the wrong messages from their beacons.”

The survey also revealed that 37% of shoppers keep their Bluetooth switched off because they are worried about running down the phone battery. 45% of respondents said they would be happy to receive offers and notifications in-store via a third-party app such as PayPal.

Pepper added: “What we need from phone manufacturers is better batteries or even lower energy Bluetooth technology so that more people remain switched on.”