Merchants in two Canadian cities have deployed Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons in conjunction with an app enabling shoppers to top off payments on their parking meters. The solution consists of beacons and a free app, known as HotSpot Parking, which can be downloaded on a user’s BLE-enabled smartphone. The app enables shoppers to view notifications about their parking payment status and pay for extra minutes, as well as receive promotional information from participating stores. If the parking meter payment is due to expire while the shopper is still in a store equipped with a beacon, the phone app will send that individual an alert indicating the need for additional payment, which the customer can then approve in order to avoid a parking violation fine. In this way, the merchant can be assured that the shopper will not prematurely leave the store to pay a meter. Learn how this function has helped increase sales, and how retailers are using the app to personalize offers to participating shoppers.
