Sebastian Dreyfus, managing director of Rosetta Europe, looks at high streets that are ahead of the curve and behind on bluetooth technology.

Regent Street is ahead of the curve with the deployment of Bluetooth beacons.

Regent Street

With its stylish stores, busy restaurants and distinctive ambience, Regent Street is where metropolitan meets cosmopolitan.

Although it is not currently seen as a place where the shops are logically connected, it is ahead of the curve with the deployment this month of Bluetooth beacons. It will offer shoppers a customised experience through mobile devices, connecting digital and physical across platforms.

Success in retail is strongly linked to how you engage your customers in-store and online. Beacons will be at their most effective when they are used as here, to turn an outdoor shopping area into a mall-like experience.

Oxford Street

In contrast, arguably Europe’s most famous shopping destination is in need of a revamp.

It still draws a staggering number of shoppers to its one-and-a-half miles of retail destinations – but there’s little activity to leverage that footfall, except maybe switching on the Christmas lights once a year.

With such a wide range of shopper demographics, Oxford Street could benefit from a unified approach. Investing in digital innovation, like its sister street, and allowing consumers to receive personalised content and offers as they pass seems a natural step. Could Bluetooth beacons be what every struggling high street needs?