Hold the beacon: McDonald’s tests wireless offers near stores

McDonald's is among the early adopters for beacon technology, working with Piper for a test of the Bluetooth beacons in Columbus (GA) with positive results.

Using Piper’s beacon implementation over a four-week trial, sales of McChicken sandwiches jumped 8 percent over the prior month while McNuggets saw a 7.5 percent boost. Some of the higher sales were likely due to the beacons which lets retailers wirelessly push promotions and coupons to the smartphones of nearby customers. Beacon technology is seen as a potential boon for retailers since it provides passive access to customers in-store as well as potential customers that could be walking by. As the beacons “see” nearby smartphones, they can push promotional coupons or other deals, which in turn could influence purchase decisions.