• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, July 7, 2015

Millennial moms are poised to be beaconed.

Whether or not they realize it, a significant number of mothers 18 to 34 have beacon-ready apps on their phones, according to a new tally.

The key is that the apps the moms have are actively being used for shopping, according to the study by beacon shopping platform InMarket.

More than a third (38%) of millennial moms actively use beacon-enabled shopping apps, making them reachable on location thanks to beacons. This translates to about 3 million moms.

And millennial moms are more likely to be a target for beaconing, since almost two times more moms than millennial women actively use shopping apps.

Of the estimated 41 million millennial women in the U.S., 20% are actively using beacon-enabled shopping apps, according to InMarket.

The apps set up to use InMarket beaconing include Epicurious, McCormick’s Zatarain’s, Key Ring, CheckPoints and Zip List.

As in all the major beacon activities in the market, all messaging is opt-in.

One of the main challenges in beaconing has been to reach consumers through apps they have installed.

This has led to many deals and partnerships being forged to get more apps set up for certain beacons.

The challenge, of course, is that an illogical app opening a beacon-triggered message could cause the consumer to delete the app on the spot, a considered risk for major apps offering app access to beacon platform companies.

The InMarket argument CEO Todd Dipaola regularly makes to me is that the apps the company uses are the actual shopping apps consumers regularly use, making them a normal conduit for beaconing.

But even with all the increased beacon reach, not all millennials are ready to use their phones for in-store commerce.

One recent study found that the majority (65%) of millennials do not buy anything monthly from their mobile phones.

But there was a silver lining in that survey of 1,200 millennials by Social Lens Research.

Of millennials who do purchase from their phone, the highest level interest focused on deals.

Almost half (44%) say coupons or deals would be useful and relevant and more than a third (37%) would want a close-by sale or coupon.

What to learn more about IoT? Check out the agenda of the upcoming MediaPost IoT: Shopping conference here.