Beacon Marketing Platform inMarket Introduces Predictive Targeting Program

In an attempt to nail down just the right moment when an in-store shopper might be most amenable to receiving a beacon-powered marketing message, proximity platform inMarket is introducing a predictive analytics program with an aptly titled sci-fi name “Quantum Receptivity.”

The program uses “beacon-level” brick-and-mortar store visit data to reach consumers across mobile, digital, and video channels. Quantum Receptivity takes that information and then measures the shopping cycles for “tens of millions of opted-in shoppers” across categories such as grocery, entertainment, discount, and auto.

After averaging out the time a retail item is used by consumers, the platform calculates when shoppers are most likely to respond to an offer —i.e., when a shopper might want to buy some more Coke or breakfast cereal.

Quantum Receptivity also avoids sending messages to shoppers when they’re least likely to want to buy something, such as right after they’ve gone shopping.

In a way, it’s a form of using predictive analysis and dayparting, albeit in a clearly personal way, says Dave Heinzinger, inMarket’s senior director for Communication.

“It’s mindset targeting, in the sense that we have all this beacon data from the world’s largest platform, so we can interpret trends and determine when individuals are most receptive to messages based on ‘when they’re due,’” Heinzinger says. “But just as importantly, we can pause campaigns when they’re ‘not due.’”

“It’s dayparting at the individual level based on each person’s shopping cycle,” he adds.

In a larger sense, the use of predictive analytics shows the wider use case for beacons as a tool for gathering data and for making retargeting ad efforts more appealing to consumers, who are often annoyed by repeatedly seeing products that they glanced at once and have decided not to buy.

Quantum Receptivity has been in private beta for over a year. In beta testing, retargeting at “the right moments” based on offline shopping behavior generated an 8 percent gain in the number of store trips over the control group, and a 14 percent rise in the amount spent per trip.

“Conventional targeting is demographic rich, but completely blind as to whether the audience is in a receptive mindset,” said Todd Dipaola, inMarket’s CEO, in a statement. “We’re enhancing mobile advertising by reaching people when brand messages matter — and pausing ads for folks who aren’t in a relevant mindset. This creates a better experience for consumers, and a more efficient spend for the advertiser. Quantum Receptivity adds the element of timing to the hypertargeting mix that can only be created from inMarket’s reach and the freshest, most accurate shopping location data in the world.”