TONE Revolutionizes Retail

Changing Retail with TONE Technology

Author: Keith Purcell

April 4, 2025

In today's competitive retail landscape, engaging customers and enhancing their shopping experience is more crucial than ever. Traditional marketing methods often fall short in capturing attention and delivering personalized, real-time interactions. This is where TONE's patented Audio-Activated QR™ technology steps in, revolutionizing how retailers connect with consumers through seamless, non-intrusive digital interactions.

The Challenges in Retail Engagement

Retailers face several challenges when it comes to engaging shoppers effectively:

• In-store engagement: Shoppers often overlook static promotions or ignore traditional QR codes that require scanning.
• Omnichannel experience: Bridging the gap between in-store and online shopping is a constant challenge.
• Personalized marketing: Delivering the right offer to the right person at the right time can be difficult.
• Data collection and analytics: Gathering real-time insights on consumer behavior without intrusive methods is complex.
• Improve Purchase Quantity: Increasing basket size to get the most out of in-store visits.
• Understand the Customer Journey: Understanding the consumers journey through the store, commonly known as Heat Mapping.

How TONE's Technology Transforms Retail

TONE addresses these challenges by embedding inaudible sound fragments, called TONE-Tags®, into the shopping environment. These sound waves, undetectable to human ears, trigger actions on smartphones without requiring shoppers to scan anything or download special apps. Here’s how this can be leveraged in retail:

1. Contactless Promotion

By leveraging these spaces, brands can extend their digital reach beyond physical billboards, ensuring that their audience not only sees an ad, but interacts with it in real-time.

2. Seamless Product Information and Reviews

Customers often want more details before making a purchase, but manually looking up information is inconvenient. With TONE, shoppers can receive product descriptions, customer reviews, or video demonstrations simply by being near the product.

Example: A home appliance retailer uses TONE-Tags near washing machines. When a shopper stands nearby, their phone displays key features, video tutorials, and comparison charts for easy decision-making.

3. Enhanced Loyalty Programs

Retailers can use TONE to reward customer visits and interactions automatically. Instead of relying on check-ins or scanning loyalty cards, customers receive points simply by engaging with in-store displays or promotions.

Example: A fashion retailer uses TONE-Tags in fitting rooms. When customers try on outfits, they receive loyalty points and personalized style recommendations directly on their phones.

4. Omnichannel Shopping Experiences

TONE bridges the in-store and online experience by activating digital engagement in physical spaces. Customers can be directed to online-exclusive deals, virtual try-ons, or instant checkout pages.

Example: A cosmetics brand integrates TONE in its stores to allow shoppers to virtually try different makeup shades and add items to their online cart for home delivery.

5. Smart Checkout and Mobile Payments

By embedding TONE-Tags at checkout, retailers can offer contactless payment options, making transactions faster and more convenient. This eliminates the need for physical cash or even scanning QR codes, enhancing the shopping experience.

Example: A convenience store enables TONE-powered checkout, where customers receive a prompt on their phones to complete payment without scanning anything, reducing checkout time.

The Impact of Personalized Marketing and AI in Retail

Personalization in marketing has proven to significantly influence consumer behavior:

• Increased Engagement: 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase from brands that offer personalized experiences. 
• Higher Conversion Rates: Personalized online advertising has been shown to increase the effectiveness of ads, leading to higher conversion rates.
• Enhanced Customer Loyalty: Personalized marketing strategies can lead to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty, as customers feel more valued and understood. 

Integrating AI technologies further amplifies these benefits. For example, Yum Brands, the parent company of Taco Bell and KFC, reported that AI-driven marketing campaigns led to increased purchases and reduced customer churn. 

Why Retailers Should Adopt TONE

TONE's Audio-Activated QR™ technology offers powerful advantages that help retailers boost engagement, drive sales, and operate more efficiently—all while delivering a seamless, app-enhanced experience for customers. Here's what sets TONE apart:

• Frictionless Engagement: Customers don’t need to scan or tap, making interactions effortless.
• Increased Conversions: Personalized, real-time promotions drive impulse purchases.
• Valuable Data Insights: Enhanced customer experience leads to repeat business.
• No Expensive Hardware Required: TONE works within a store’s existing audio setup or app, minimizing costs.

Privacy and Compliance: Built for Trust

In today's privacy-conscious environment, TONE is designed to deliver innovative engagement without compromising consumer trust. While TONE's Audio-Activated QR™ technology uses background audio monitoring to detect inaudible TONE-Tags®, it does so with a strict privacy-by-design approach and full transparency.

TONE technology only activates through explicit user consent within participating retailer apps. It does not record or store any audio content, and it does not collect personally identifiable information (PII) unless the user clearly opts in. Robust safeguards govern all data handling that comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and other relevant privacy laws.

Key privacy-focused features include:

• Background audio monitoring is strictly limited to detecting TONE-Tags®
• No audio recordings or conversations are stored, shared, or analyzed
• Clear, opt-in consent before activation of TONE functionality
• Anonymized, aggregated analytics for business insights without compromising user identity
• Built-in consent management and transparency tools for app developers

TONE empowers retailers to deliver cutting-edge digital engagement—while respecting user privacy every step of the way. Learn more about TONE's privacy approach at TONE and GDPR.

Future of Retail with TONE

Retail is evolving, and consumers expect personalized, seamless, and tech-driven shopping experiences. By leveraging TONE's Audio-Activated QR™ technology, retailers can enhance customer engagement, drive sales, and create memorable in-store experiences.

Are you ready to transform your retail strategy? Learn more about how TONE can help your business engage customers like never before. Visit www.TheTONEKnows.com to explore the future of smart retail engagement.