Liverpool University employs beacon technology
By Retail Technology | Monday September 12 2016
Beacons are being used by Liverpool John Moores University to help students access discounts and coupons and find their way around
The Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons are used in conjunction with a smartphone app and utilise technology provided by Liverpool-based creative digital agency Mando.
The deployment follows a pilot programme where students used the beacon-based system to receive discounts at a cafeteria that had recently been refurbished and opened for business.
When a student's phone comes within range of a beacon, the LJMYou app displays special offers for food or drink items, or other location-based information.
Engagement
The University was looking to ascertain whether students could better engage with catering outlets if beacon technology were made available, and whether there was sufficient interest to warrant installing such technology for other retail purposes.
Mandy Phillips, LJMU's head of corporate business change initiative said the university wants to drive retail engagement and promote better management of food by drawing customers attention to specific foods or beverages that the cafeteria needs to sell before being discarded.
Mando technical strategist Gary Pretty said: "We are currently working with LJMU to roll out the technology across the whole university campus which will likely extend to hundreds of beacons and many retail outlets."
