StyleBlueprint to launch app with beacon technology

StyleBlueprint is among the first Nashville companies implementing BKON's iBeacon technology to help client retailers interact with their shoppers.

The online lifestyle publication is launching an app in December that will connect its readers to about 200 Nashville-area companies, many of which are restaurants and boutiques. BKON's beacon devices will be placed in the majority of those stores, allowing them to send messages to consumers who have downloaded the StyleBlueprint app.

"We are doing something that I think is pretty early in Nashville," said StyleBlueprint Chief Operating Officer Coco Kyriopoulos. "It's a really great (way to) connect the dots in terms of what we are providing for our customers."

For StyleBlueprint's more than 20,000 Nashville readers, the technology could mean access to additional discounts offered through the app or more tailored customer service as they shop. For example, if a consumer enters a shop affiliated with StyleBlueprint, he could see a message pop up on his smartphone welcoming him with a 10 percent off coupon or telling him about new items. Meanwhile, StyleBlueprint can offer more insights on consumer habits to its clients, which are typically small businesses that do not have their own app.

For companies to access customer data, consumers need to have downloaded the app and allowed for location information to be shared. A generic user identity number is tracked, rather than any personal identification, Kyriopoulos said. Through the BKON software, retailers could see that a consumer has entered a store multiple times or that customers who visit one store typically visit another store, allowing those places to cross market.

StyleBlueprint, which has 50,000 daily readers across the South, is testing its app, which is being developed by Nashville area-based Firefly Logic, SSB Consulting and Mercury Intermedia. In addition to providing a mobile option for many small businesses, it allows Nashville consumers a one-stop app that includes many Nashville retailers.

"It (has) an insider-type feel," Kyriopoulos said. "You get these tips and information about these stores that you might not otherwise have."

Reach Jamie McGee at 615-259-8071 and on Twitter @JamieMcGee_.