When CRS-IUA is launched for the first time, the shopper is challenged to either enable or disable in-store notifications or “opt-in”. The opt in challenge only happens the first time the app is run and the user’s decision is saved as an app settings. This setting can also be accessed later under More Menu > Notifications.

If the user opts-in they can access the iBeacon features as long as they have enabled Bluetooth and location services. If they do not opt-in they will not be able to access the iBeacon functionality.

If the shopper has indicated that they will globally accept app notifications, on the first launch of CRS-IUA the following displays:

Notification opt-in message

If the user has not enabled notification, they will first see this prompt:

Notification Opt-in

The CRS-IUA user can later modify this setting:

Store Visit

If a user does not already have a store visit session active and encounters a beacon, the user is considered to have entered the store. Location services and bluetooth must be enabled for the app to know the user is in the store, that is, the user had “opted in” to the CRS-IUA iBeacon functionality. When the store visit begins, in-store features will display, including any welcome message, iBeacon alerts, and a form to request help from an associate using the ASA app.

A shopper is considered to have left the store when a certain amount of time has passed since their last iBeacon encounter. The length of this idle time is set in the constant TIMEOUT_STORE_EXIT in ATGBeaconManager.m. By default, this value is 1200 seconds or twenty minutes.