Eight more examples of geofencing you should know about

I’ve rounded up what I think are the most intriguing examples of geofencing.

The list includes retailers but also other sectors such as leisure and education.

Take a look, because this is an area that almost any company could surely find a compelling use case for.

By Ben Davis July 23rd 2014 10:32

vouchercloud

Those with the vouchercloud app on their smartphones will be served a voucher when they are within 200m of a participating store.

At the moment in the UK this includes Hotel Chocolat, Loch Fyne, Papa Johns, Prezzo, Strada and Subway.

vouchercloud has reported clickthrough rates of 45%, which if consistent across the service represents a phenomenal opportunity to revitalise the generic voucher companies out there.

In this case, the retailers can amend strategy and offers within the vouchercloud platform itself.

Uber

At the moment, Uber uses geofencing at LAX almost as a defensive measure. That’s because private hire cars from networks like Uber aren’t licensed to pick up passengers at this airport (apart from the app’s luxury service, which is commercially licensed and insured).

Therefore Uber uses a geofence outside of the pickup area, where drivers can wait for fares. The Daily Breeze reports that this has caused tension among drivers as there’s no queueing system in place for the drivers, so some are getting fares in front of others who have waited longer, due to the nature of the app.

Aside from this use, to protect its drivers from breaking regulations, there’s potentially a game changing use for geofencing at airports where Uber can operate.

As David Klein, lead UX designer at Moovweb, eloquently lays out in this post on Medium, iBeacons could be used in San Francisco airport, for example, to garner business for Uber.

When users land and turn on their phones, they can be served a push notification inviting them to order a cab in a situation when they often forget about Uber.

Walmart

Walmart’s app has a Store Mode that, amongst other things, responds to geofencing around stores, and delivers coupons and e-receipts.

With one in five of Walmart’s online purchases picked up in store, this geofencing tactic can persuade those customers to spend more in stores.

Yik Yak

Yik Yak is a social network without friend groups. The app uses geographical data to create a local bulletin board to which anyone in the surrounding 1.5 miles can post.

Interestingly, the app has been using geofencing to protect its reputation and block anyone using the app in the vicinity of schools. This is because the app was being misused by bullies, thus garnering unwanted criticism for the creators of the service.

The British Open Golf Championships

At Hoylake in 2014, The British Open, won by Rory McIlroy, supplied spectators with WiFi and used geo-fencing to allow fans to track players’ progress across the course.

Starbucks

Not currently available, but Starbucks is planning an order ahead service. Some, including Slash Gear, have speculated this is most likely to be done with iBeacons, probably inside the Starbucks app, meaning payment can be taken, too.

Honeywell’s smart thermostats

Nest is the most prominent of smart thermostats, but it’s the Honeywell Lyric that’s using geofencing. If you (your phone) leave your home, the Lyric will switch to ‘nobody’s home’ mode, to save on fuel.

Amazon

A fun one to finish. Amazon is currently seeking permission from aviation authorities to test its drones at its lab in Seattle. Reports suggest the tech giant will be using geofencing to keep the drones safely within Amazon airspace.

See the Econsultancy blog for more uses of iBeacons and potential trials of iBeacons.