GE joins Phillips in introducing LEDs that fast-blink coupons to your phone

Get ready to shop in a store where the store lighting is telling your smartphone about coupons, specials, and product placement. This week at the big Lightfair show in Las Vegas, GE will show a new generation of LED lighting fixtures that communicate through visible light to your smartphone’s camera. “Anything that lets you personalize the shopping experience, particularly if you can do it in real time, is almost the Holy Grail,” Steven Kirn told VentureBeat. He’s executive director of the Miller Center for Retailing Education and Research at the University of Florida.