Shopkick's new gadget uses sound signals to reward mobile shoppers for entering stores


SAN FRANCISCO -- Shopkick unveiled new technology Wednesday that reminds consumers to open the company's mobile shopping application when they walk into stores.

The start-up, an early player in the mobile shopping sector, spent a year developing shopBeacon, which is being used for the first time in Macy's department stores in New York and San Francisco starting this week.

ShopBeacon is a small plastic transmitter that runs on batteries lasting five years and sticks on the walls of retail stores. It uses Apple's iBeacon Bluetooth Low Energy signalling standard to spot when shoppers enter stores. Those who have opted into Shopkick's service get an automatic reminder to open the company's app.

Until now, shoppers had to remember to launch the Shopkick app themselves when entering retail locations.

"This helps get much more usage of apps in stores," said Cyriac Roeding, CEO and co-founder of Shopkick.

This is the latest gadget designed to help retailers identify and market to smartphone-wielding shoppers when they visit stores. In September, eBay's PayPal division launched a Bluetooth Low Energy device called Beacon that plugs into an electric wall socket and lets stores automatically identify and authenticate PayPal users as they walk in.

Shopkick's new transmitter also uses audio signal technology that is picked up by the microphones in all mobile phones. These signals don't pass through store walls, while Bluetooth Low Energy and other signals used for locating shoppers often "bleed through" into nearby stores, according to Roeding.

This is important because Shopkick's app rewards shoppers for entering specific stores and using specific promotions to buy items. The new technology avoids rewarding consumers when they have not actually entered a store -- or worse when they visit a rival retailer next door.