I was in Guangzhou China Monday and walking past a shopping mall on Tianhe Road I received this text message. Apparently, the retailer involved pays China Mobile a fee to send advertising via text to people nearby.
I thought this was pretty cool – marketing to possible shoppers near your store. TheI thought it could be annoying for locals if they pass by this or others using a similar service. Your phone could soon become clogged.
While our privacy laws here stop this type of marketing, I am sure that iBeacon and similar close range services will see retailers reaching into the mobile phones of those nearby to try and attract interest.