Location tracking has long been a popular topic in retail. Retailers have often used varying methods to track consumers’ location including:
– Security Cameras
– Wifi Connections
– GPS
– NFC
– Bluetooth

These methods were often costly to implement, unreliable, and clunky in general.

Apple’s solution is iBeacon. Although iBeacon is still new and relatively undisclosed, Apple is still making major plans for the platform. Options they have considered included hyper-local marketing, customer habit tracking, and even for payments.

Similar uses already exist minus the iBeacon technology. For example, Apple’s own Passbook application utilizes location technology to show relevant documents when you approach certain areas.

This technology is slated to continue to grow as more and more retailers adopt the platform.

Source: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-10-24/apples-location-tracking-ibeacon-poised-for-retail-sales-use