A smart beacon is a proximity device, which transmits a signal with the help of Bluetooth low energy proximity sensing technology by using compatible application or operating system. When a smartphone or tablet is in the beacon’s range, it detect the physical location of the device and tracks customer, then triggers allocation based notification on the device. For example, smart beacons are used in brick and mortar retail stores for mobile commerce to send notification regarding special offers to the customers.

iBeacon and Eddystone are two most significant protocols used in smart beacon. iBeacon is developed by Apple, Inc. and is iOS compatible. iBeacon functions in iPhones and iPads. For instance, in 2013 Apple, Inc. activated iBeacon across 254 stores in the U.S. Eddystone was launched by Google LLC in 2015 and it is now highly adopted in the market. It is specially developed for Android users.

According to Coherent Market Insights’ analysis, smart beacons generated around US$ 4 Billion in offline retail sales as of 2016, and is expected to exhibit significant growth by 2025.

Eddystone standard segment is expected to hold largest market share in the global smart beacon market by 2025

iBeacon standard accounted for the largest market share in the global smart beacon market in 2016, though, the Eddystone segment is expected to witness growth at a significant rate and is forecast to dominate the market over the forecast period. This is owing to Eddystone offering extended functionality beyond iBeacon. Eddystone has four packets as a part of Bluetooth connectivity signal, including Eddystone-UID, Eddystone-URL, Eddystone-TLM, and Eddystone-EID. These features aid in providing more accuracy in performance than iBeacon. Eddystone can guide customers by providing most relevant information based on their behavior, choice, priority, location, and buying habits.

For instance, when a consumer passes any store in a mall, they will get information regarding offers and other information. Eddystone has the ability to entirely automate the communication from physical movement to modified, location, and profile-based notification. Therefore, Eddystone segment is expected to increase at the highest CAGR over the forecast period.

Smart Beacon Market Taxonomy

On the basis of beacon standards, the global smart beacon market is segmented into:

iBeacon

Eddystone

Others

On the basis of connectivity type, the global smart beacon market is segmented into:

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)

Hybrid

On the basis of offering, the global smart beacon market is segmented into:

Hardware

Software

Service

On the basis of end-user industry, the global smart beacon market is segmented into:

Retail

Transportation & Logistics

Public Gatherings and Spaces

Sports

Healthcare

Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI)

Automotive

Aviation

Education

Others

Europe accounted for the largest share in the global smart beacon market in 2016

The global smart beacon market has been segmented on the basis of regions into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa. North America accounted largest share in the global smart beacon market in 2016. This is attributed to high penetration of smart beacon technology in end-user industries, which includes retail, public transportation, logistics, and hospitality. According to SITA, an air transport provider, announced that at Miami International Airport, around 450 beacons and at Schiphol 1,500 beacons have been deployed. Simon Property Group announced that in 2015 it installed about 4,800 beacons across 192 malls and shopping centers. Hence, it is expected that in North America around 200 million Android and Apple smartphones will be using smart beacon technology by 2025.

Major players operating in the global smart beacon market are Estimote, Aruba, Kontakt.Io, Cisco, Bluvision, Onyx Beacon, Leantegra, Gimbal, Accent Systems, Swirl Networks, Sensoro, Jaalee Technology, Beaconinside, Blesh, and Blueup.