Have you realized that almost everywhere you  turn these days you are greeted with a push notification message on your smartphone  with either a new service  offering to enhance your life by prompting you to provide your precise geo-location to a retailer or insert your data into one of the many location-based services? That’s right Geo-fencing is becoming a popular among small business owners.

By definition Geo-fencing is a location based service in which an app or other software uses GPS ,RFID,WI-FI or cellular data to trigger a pre-programmed action when a mobile device or RFID tag enters or exists a virtual boundary set up around a geographical location known as a geo-fence.

Geo- fencing can be very important for businesses if properly utilized. Business owners can use geo- location-targeting apps on smartphone users to report a specific user’s location to other users and relate real-world locations to their location as well as analyze customer behavior.

Using geo-location data is gaining traction in many industries especially retail. It provides an opportunity to understand customer needs and improve the general customer experience across all channels. Location solutions offer unprecedented insights into shopper behavior, store performance and merchandising strategy. This allows for a better in-store experience by optimizing forecasting while reducing the cost of operations.

How to leverage the location data

According to a survey, about twenty percent of shoppers leave the store without purchasing every item on their list. Usually an incomplete purchase is likely the result of not being able to find the item they seek from a store. Retail associates can capitalize on the opportunity to help shoppers find products via the tool they wouldn’t dare leave home without – their smartphones. Actually, many people consider geo-location features in retailer mobile apps as very important and efficient when shopping.

Retailers can provide mapping and geo-location capabilities within their native mobile app, as well as customized product searches for their customers. By using indoor mapping technology, retailers can show a shopper the best way to get to the correct aisle for the item in question, saving the shopper time and improving his or her experience. This tool can be exceptionally helpful in larger stores like supermarkets with a wide product mix or multiple floors.

Once a store is digitally mapped, retailers can create additional value for store associates. Most store employees are tasked with various operational duties along with customer-facing tasks. On any given day, they are receiving goods and stocking shelves, restocking returned goods, pulling down old signs and counting inventory.

Hence anything that helps the employee organize his or her work, as it relates to item location, will allow time for focusing on their primary objectives: engaging with shoppers and selling products.  By empowering the retail agents with the right technology, the retailer can learn about the needs of the customer and understand the impact customer service delivery has on the execution of operational tasks. Keeping location information up-to-date ensures a retailer can rely on the data for merchandising information.

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