How Apple’s iBeacon Could Upend Retail Shopping

austincanoe:

A lot of the iBeacon stuff seem to enthuse about how retailers are going to get our money faster and easier. So it’s nice to see some applications that would actually make life better for people.

With iBeacon, people who are vision impaired could be easily guided to specific stores, store aisles, and even individual products. Shoppers with physical handicaps could access stores more easily with wheelchair ramps that drop down over stairs as they approach a store. Shopping could be made more efficient with beacon technology that lowers products from shelves when you approach them with the intention of purchase. And payment via fingerprint touch could help shoppers with a variety of disabilities.

It’s still a retail focus, but it solves real problems of an underserved segment.