The Fastest Growing BluetoothSolution Area Finds its Way

May 16, 2018
Dave Hollander
Asset Tracking, Bluetooth Low Energy, Broadcast, Connected Device, Indoor Navigation, Location Services, POI Information, Smart Building, Smart City

The 2018 Bluetooth Market Update released last month highlights the most recent trends and forecasts for Bluetooth^® technology and markets. In the upcoming weeks, we’ll be releasing a series of articles outlining some of the most compelling takeaways from this year’s update.

According to the report, one of the emerging markets in which Bluetooth technology is poised to make the biggest impact is the smart building market. Last year’s launch of Bluetooth mesh networking received a great deal of attention in smart building circles, and for good reason. It marked the formal entry of Bluetooth into full-building automation. Not to be overlooked, the use of Bluetooth technology to enable indoor positioning and location services has been gaining serious momentum.

In fact, according to the Bluetooth Market Update, annual shipments of Bluetooth Location Services devices are forecasted to grow 10x by 2022, making it the fastest growing Bluetooth solution area over the forecast period. The report goes on to highlight a few of the market segments driving this steep growth trajectory.

Location Services Find Their Way

Bluetooth^® Location Services solutions are increasingly deployed by smart buildings and venues around the world to enable point-of-interest solutions, way finding, asset tracking, and space utilization.

Retail has been especially quick to adopt location services and continues to be an early proving ground for smart building technologies. Leveraging Bluetooth technology throughout their facilities, retailers can enhance the customer shopping experience by enabling personalized promotions and way-finding services that help shoppers navigate their stores and locate items on shelves. These simple advancements are already increasing sales and reducing operating costs for retailers around the world.

75 percent of the top 20 retailers are using location services, and that percentage is poised to continue to grow moving forward. But retailers aren’t the only ones using location solutions to enhance visitor experiences and improve efficiencies.

To combat cost pressures and provide better patient care, healthcare facilities are adopting Bluetooth technology to monitor patients, track assets, and advance emergency services. As the report indicates, ABI research forecasts that by 2022, 100 million Bluetooth smart healthcare devices are expected to ship every year.

Location services implementations are also gaining significant traction in sporting venues, offices, and airports. Industrial asset-tracking applications are on the rise. It all points to one thing. It’s clear that location services solutions have found their permanent place in the Internet of Things (IoT).

To see more smart building market forecasts and insights, and get full access to all the latest Bluetooth^® technology trends, download the 2018 Bluetooth Market Update.

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