Bloobuy is the name given by the Dusseldorf based specialist for payment services net mobile AG (net-m) for the smart combination of Bluetooth Low Energy (Bluetooth LE) and the so-called Air Stamp ultrasonic technology. Using individually placeable Bloobuy beacons, the energy saving Bluetooth LE technology allows retailers to send attractive, location-based advertising messages. Special offers or bonus programmes are sent contactless to the target group's smartphones of passers-by, thereby attracting their attention. Air Stamp gives the solution maximum security and prevents the illegal copying and distribution of valuable vouchers or bonus points. Bloobuy uses Bluetooth LE technology paramountly to approach customers in shops, while concurrently sending vouchers and bonus points via ultrasonic sound to their mobile phones, triggering direct buying incentives. Air Stamp ultrasonic waves can be received by all conventional smartphone microphones and already has over 99% device coverage. Together with built-in security mechanisms, the limited range of ultrasonic waves assures the retailer that the vouchers are passed on to customers locally.
"Through the use of cutting-edge technology, we are in a position to offer retailers Bloobuy as the most comprehensive solution in the emerging proximity-marketing arena. The totally flexible adaptability of our solution allows even smaller retailers to put productive campaigns into effect directly at point-of-sale" reports a delighted Dr Hermann Lichte, Director of Innovations at net mobile AG, about the possibilities of offering such an innovative product. Apart from the technical infrastructure of retailers, Bloobuy offers a high-capacity management platform in the background.
This platform is especially important for the retail trade as it offers the retailer not only important statistics about the effectiveness of campaigns but also ensures that customers only receive those offers - via intelligent algorithms - that are highly probable of interest to them. "Together with its security methods, Bloobuy stands out against a multitude of other beacon solutions which have recently been introduced into the market by other companies" is how Hermann Lichte summarises the advantages of this platform.
Right from the outset, net mobile AG is starting the market launch of Bloobuy in Europe with two partners. To prove the platform's effectiveness, they are implementing a pilot project in the second half of the year with GETTINGS GmbH, a location-based service provider for incentive proposals and campaigns. Within the framework of this pilot project, 150 shops in Düsseldorf are to receive this technology. Within a further exclusive partnership, net mobile AG will make the Bloobuy platform available to the mobile shopper-activation specialist xsmart AG for the Swiss and Dutch marketplace. "Bluetooth LE and ultrasonic technology has enormous potential and is going to drastically change the way and manner of our shopping in premises-based businesses in the coming years. The exclusive partnership with xsmart in Switzerland and Holland will permit local retailers and merchants to utilise this exceptional technology immediately. The reliable statistics gleaned from the pilot project in Düsseldorf with GETTINGS will accompany this and help make the advantages of the Bloobuy platform quantifiable" says Hermann Lichte.
As an international market leader in mobile value added services and payment solutions sector, net mobile AG is extending its product in the next phase to include mobile payment functionality in order to simplify and enlarge the customers' shopping experience with respect to smartphones.