Beacon Technology Market Size By Platform (iBeacon, Eddystone, AltBeacon), By Deployment Model (On-premise, Cloud), By Application (Retail, Travel, Tourism & Hospitality, Healthcare, Financial Institutions, Real-estate, Education), By Technology (BLE, Wi-Fi, Ultrasound, Combined Technologies), Industry Analysis Report, Regional Outlook, Growth Potential, Competitive Market Share & Forecast, 2017 - 2024

Beacon Technology Market Size

Beacon Technology Market size estimated at USD 170 million in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 80% from 2017 to 2024.  
 

The beacon technology market is expected to witness an accelerated growth over the forecast timeline due to the extensive usage of technology in industry verticals including retail, education, hospitality, and healthcare. For instance, the healthcare sector is witnessing heavy usage of Bluetooth-based technologies to improve the quality of healthcare services provided to patients. Beacons offer vital information to users such as navigating hospitals and finding medications to improve hospital efficiency, which will improve patient satisfaction. The rising penetration of the Internet of Things (IoT) is also supporting the market growth. The technology allows beacons to detect information, enabling them to communicate with other devices and making location-based searching and interaction more accurate.
 

Beacon Technology Market Analysis

The AltBeacon platform is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 70% from 2017 to 2024 as it is an open and interoperable specification for proximity beacons. The AltBeacon specification helps to create a highly competitive market for proximity beacon implementations. The platform comprises more data delivery space than iBeacon, implying more data delivery per message for consumers. This will fuel the demand for such platforms among various industry verticals.
 

The cloud beacon technology market is estimated to exhibit the fastest growth rate due to the rising implementation of cloud enabled BLE networks, which will eliminate the high costs associated with overlay networks and complicated deployment & operation of these networks. These cloud-based networks aid in finding the accurate location, marketing & engagement, and replacements of battery-powered beacons through a network managed virtual beacons with simplicity and scalability. This is expected to accelerate the demand for cloud-based platforms.
 

The education application segment will grow at a CAGR of over 70% from 2017 to 2024 due to the rising implementation of BYOD in classrooms, schools, and universities globally to improve the quality, access, and availability of education for students. Beacons can offer solutions that provide contextual learning experience to students. For improving the in-class experience, beacons can be used to record the attendance by using check-ins with beacons instead of manually counting students. The technology is also used to establish a localized notification system to deal with safety alerts. For instance, in case of any natural calamity, officials can notify people through alerts to evacuate.
 

The Wi-Fi segment is projected to hold a beacon technology market share of over 5% by 2024 as Wi-Fi hotspots are gaining popularity in restaurants, hotels, and stadiums to provide internet access. The technology detects nearby Wi-Fi enabled devices and is cost-effective due to which smart proximity sensors are using underlying technology to support the communication process. The technology can be used for navigational purposes at the venue and together with beacons can aid in interaction, which is proximity-based.
 

The LAMEA beacon technology market will observe a growth rate of over 85% between 2017 and 2024 due to several smart city initiatives undertaken on a large-scale and the rising usage of BLE technology in various sectors. For instance, in November 2017, Mexico City’s Ministry of Economic Development (SEDECO) partnered with AT&T to run an IoT pilot program in Mexico City. This initiative focuses on developing a smart city under the Program to Promote and Improve Public Markets in Mexico City. In January 2017, Mexico witnessed large-scale beacon infrastructure at the Chivas stadium. The group deployed more than 400 Kontakt.io beacons at their new soccer stadium, utilizing the Tough Beacon in particular for easy deployment and durability.
 

Beacon Technology Market Share

Some of the renowned beacon market players are focusing on new product developments with enhanced capabilities to target a wider set of customers. For instance, in September 2016, Estimote introduced Estimote Mirror, the world’s first video-enabled beacon. This beacon can take content from apps on mobile devices and display them on a digital screen. The companies are consistently engaging in strategic alliances with other market players to offer enhanced proximity-based solutions to their customers. For instance, in June 2016, Gimbal partnered with Health Media Network (HMN) to create the first and the largest proximity beacon network for healthcare in the U.S. Under the partnership, Gimbal’s beacon was used to deliver personalized mobile messages to audiences within Network’s nationwide office.

Some of the key players operating in the beacon technology market include

• Glimworm Beacons
• Kontakt.io
• Apple
• Google
• Radius Networks
• Madison Beacons
• RECO
• Gimbal
• blueSense Networks
• Swirl
• BlueCat’s
• Estimote
• Onyx Beacon
• Sensorberg
• Beaconinside
• Texas Instruments

Industry Background

Beacon technology has revolutionized various industry verticals, particularly the retail and e-commerce industry to send location awareness alerts and promotional notifications to customers. The first BLE protocol named iBeacon was developed by Apple in 2014, which was implemented in the location framework in iOS 7 and newer operating systems. This facilitated the adoption of BLE technology as companies started investing heavily in this technology to gain more market share. The technology will gain momentum over the forecast period as companies are developing new platforms to enable indoor positioning and location-based services.