Proximity marketing without an app: how it works with Wallet.

What proximity means inside Wallet

The business adds locations to a pass the customer has already saved. The operating system evaluates whether that pass is relevant near the venue; this is not a campaign that freely tracks everyone around a store.

Apple surfaces the relevant pass

Apple Wallet uses pass locations to show it on the lock screen when the system considers it relevant. Apple decides the exact radius and final appearance; the pass can include short location-related text.

• 01Up to 10 relevant locations per pass
• 02Evaluation performed by the system
• 03Contextual location text
• 04Real-device verification required

Google can show a nearby alert

Google Wallet uses merchant locations to notify the holder of a saved pass after they enter and dwell within an area defined by Google. Notifications and precise always-on location access must be enabled.

• 01Up to 10 locations per class and 10 per object
• 02Alert copy controlled by Google
• 03Hidden after leaving the area
• 04Available for regular pass types

Use cases that benefit from the signal

Proximity works when it unlocks one specific action: redeem an in-store coupon, show a membership pass, complete stamps, remember a booking or open directions. The benefit should be clear before customers walk in.

Measure without inventing impressions

Measurement is designed around an observable outcome. A code, link, booking or redemption connects the activation to return without assuming that every relevant pass became a viewed notification.

• 01UTM per campaign or venue
• 02Coupon code
• 03Scan or validated visit
• 04Return comparison