Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket Launching First iBeacon Platform for Apple's Upcoming Watch

[MacRumors]

Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket today are announcing the launch of a new iBeacon platform throughout Marsh's 75 supermarket locations that will enable Apple Watch users to receive interactive alerts and other content on their devices based on their proximity to Marsh's beacons. The program is the first integration of iBeacon technology with Apple's wearable product, which is expected to launch to the public in the next several months.

"iBeacons have created new ways to connect with mobile shoppers in the store, and inMarket allows us to reach many of our shoppers through the apps they love and use everyday," said Amit Bhardwaj, Senior Director of Customer Loyalty, Marsh Supermarkets. "Now with wearable integration, shoppers who use Apple Watch will enjoy the same digitally-augmented, real-world shopping experience."

Marsh and inMarket are working together to develop a platform that will initially include Marsh's own app and inMarket's List Ease app, with other apps likely to quickly follow. As envisioned, inMarket's beacons in Marsh stores will be able to trigger alerts such as shopping lists, ads, and other content for customers who use Marsh's mobile app or one of the apps that incorporate inMarket's Proximity SDK.

Customers who opt into the program could receive offers, recipes, and other alerts on their mobile devices as they walk through the grocery store, and the system will automatically extend to the Apple Watch on day one as the apps are updated to add support for the device.

Marsh may be the first to extend Apple's iBeacon capabilities to the Apple Watch, but it isn't the first to adopt the location-based technology. Retailer Macy's, Virgin Atlantic airlines and Major League Baseball are among the early adopters that rolled out iBeacons in their respective venues.

Article Link: Marsh Supermarkets and inMarket Launching First iBeacon Platform for Apple's Upcoming Watch

 

[usersince86]

Good news

Hope we can go iKrogering soon.

 

[ecschwarz]

…of course Marsh is looking for a way to do advertising on the Apple Watch, but don't seem to have any interest in actual useful services like Apple Pay or Passbook (for their Fresh Idea card). No wonder they've had to close quite a few locations and are having their lunch eaten by Meijer, Kroger, Aldi, and Walmart.

 

[Rogifan]

The operative word here being "opt-in".

 

[kdarling]

I'm imagining a grocery store where suddenly everyone stops pushing their carts, checks their watch to see what ad they just got, then all start moving again.

Would've made a great Outer Limits episode decades ago.

Or maybe just a scene in The Stepford Wives.

 

[FieldingMellish]

Pop up ads wherever we walk now.

 

[ayale99]

I quit going to Marsh years ago because their prices are across the board higher for the same products you can find at Kroger. As much as I love technology, this won't bring me back in.

Well, maybe once to try out the Watch.

 

[avanpelt]

Hope we can go iKrogering soon.

I'm not holding my breath. They haven't even announced a timeline for Apple Pay support yet (assuming they're even going to support it at all).

 

[ecschwarz]

I quit going to Marsh years ago because their prices are across the board higher for the same products you can find at Kroger. As much as I love technology, this won't bring me back in.

Well, maybe once to try out the Watch.

I agree - then there was the whole "This isn't a Marsh anymore, so you need a new loyalty card, but we still own and operate it" thing at some locations (Marsh->MainStreet Market->Closed). It seems that in a lot of outlying areas from Indy, they got hurt by Walmart and Meijer especially.

I really want to support the "local" company, but they are overpriced for a lot of non-sale items and seem to not really be aware or care what's happening with the competition.

 

[Rogifan]

Pop up ads wherever we walk now.

If you chose to opt-in.

 

[darkslide29]

A very Apple-like video, but not as good when it's missing a British accent.

 

[iSee]

There's a system in the "Stop & Shop"s around me where you pick up a scanner on the way in, scan items as you put them in your cart (and straight into a bag), and then you just pay on the way out.

These scanners pop up aisle-based info -- mainly coupons & deals on stuff you are near.

It's pretty bad and annoying. It just comes off as them constantly nagging me about stuff I don't want.

It's tied into my frequent shopper card so they should be able to target it. But they don't. Naturally, they are focused on what they want, not what I want. In theory, they could do this a lot better, but I just don't see a grocery store chain having the right mentality to pull something like that off. They're always going to want to push the line, so at best you'll end up with something that's at the edge between annoying and useful.

 

[brucerb]

Who?

For the 95% of you who, like me, had never heard of Marsh Supermarkets, looks like it's a chain in Ohio and Indiana only.

 

[samcraig]

Interesting.

However I wonder if you can opt-in selectively or if Marsh plans on not over-saturating the experience.

While I would be curious once or twice to have a recipe or special pop up on my wrist. Not sure I want my arm "pinged" multiple times during my shopping trip as a distraction vs other notifications coming in like a text, email or phone call.

 

[Natzoo]

oh boy a subscription

 

[IJ Reilly]

I'm imagining a grocery store where suddenly everyone stops pushing their carts, checks their watch to see what ad they just got, then all start moving again.

Would've made a great Outer Limits episode decades ago.

Or maybe just a scene in The Stepford Wives.

Or to be fair, the Stepford Husbands.

Do you mean you've never been rammed in the supermarket by someone who was texting while shopping?

The problem with this tech isn't that it's really any spookier than what we've got going already. The problem is the lack of value added. Somebody will have to come up with a compelling reason for us to use it.

 

[Boatboy24]

"Bananas are on your shopping list and you just walked past them. Would you like to turn around, or remove them from your list? Monitoring sensors indicate your are very low in potassium. It is recommended that you turn around."

 

[Plutonius]

It makes sense to have iBeacon to help you navigate a marsh .

 

[JAQ]

If you chose to opt-in.

So only for masochists, idiots, and compulsive first-adopters then.

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

"Bananas are on your shopping list and you just walked past them. Would you like to turn around, or remove them from your list? Monitoring sensors indicate your are very low in potassium. It is recommended that you turn around."

Now that might be useful. Also, a reminder when you approach the checkout that you have forgotten something on your list (I do that all the time, even with the list in Reminders on my phone).

The commercial doesn't really show anything more than I can already do on my phone without iBeacons, which is to say, go through my shopping list and check off stuff when I put it in the cart.

And the voiceover is gratingly Ive-esque.

 

[macfoxpro]

Always liked Marsh

 

[Rogifan]

Or to be fair, the Stepford Husbands.

Do you mean you've never been rammed in the supermarket by someone who was texting while shopping?

The problem with this tech isn't that it's really any spookier than what we've got going already. The problem is the lack of value added. Somebody will have to come up with a compelling reason for us to use it.

Convenience.

 

[wigby]

Or to be fair, the Stepford Husbands.

Do you mean you've never been rammed in the supermarket by someone who was texting while shopping?

The problem with this tech isn't that it's really any spookier than what we've got going already. The problem is the lack of value added. Somebody will have to come up with a compelling reason for us to use it.

I think it's very compelling to be alerted as I approach something on my shopping list. It's also nice to be alerted if a similar item is on sale or there is a coupon for it. Remember this is all opt-in so saying it has no value is like saying there is no value in discounts or there is no value for the most knowledgable store employee that knows where everything you need is.

 

[madsci954]

For the 95% of you who, like me, had never heard of Marsh Supermarkets, looks like it's a chain in Ohio and Indiana only.

Must be in western Ohio. I live in the northeast part of Ohio, and have never heard of them.

 

[lombax54]

Closest Marsh is over an hour from me. I'll probably continue just going to Bi-Lo and simply using Pay there, until other stores start to use iBeacon tech.