# Retail, proximity and IoT marketing: what AI models recommend, September 2026

GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition. Asked as "proximity marketing platform" and as "location-based and in-store marketing tool", six framings each, to twelve models with search on, on behalf of a mid-market B2B company. Page: https://gtm-ai-index.com/marketing/retail-proximity-and-iot-marketing/

**Standing:** Radar leads with 19% of first choices; verdict contested. 47 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| # | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Radar | 19% | 7% | 30 |
| 2 | GroundTruth | 9% | 0% | 15 |
| 3 | Foursquare | 6% | 4% | 26 |
| 4 | PlotProjects | 6% | 0% | 20 |
| 5 | Kontakt.io | 2% | 7% | 27 |
| 6 | Estimote | 2% | 5% | 21 |
| 7 | InMarket | 2% | 10% | 10 |
| 8 | Bluedot | 0% | 8% | 13 |

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: Gimbal, GroundTruth, Simpli.fi
- GPT-5.4 mini: Foursquare Proximity; alternatives 6sense, Demandbase
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Uniqode; alternatives Purple, Radar
- Perplexity Sonar: Propensity; alternatives Estimote, InMarket
- Grok 4.1 Fast: CleverTap; alternatives PlotProjects, Simpli.fi
- Mistral Small: Foursquare, Radar; alternatives CleverTap, Insider, Kontakt.io, Kumulos
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: GroundTruth, StackAdapt; alternatives Hey Sid, InZynk, Radar
- Llama 4 Maverick: InMarket; alternatives Apollo.io, Foursquare
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: Radar; alternatives Foursquare, Kontakt.io
- Kimi K2: Radar; alternatives AdRoll ABM, Phunware, PlotProjects
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Radar; alternatives InMarket
- MiniMax M2.5: Radar

## Sources the answers cite

22 of 72 answers came back with a source list, from 4 of 12 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- g2.com: 8 answers, 12 citations
- thecmo.com: 7 answers, 9 citations
- f6s.com: 5 answers, 7 citations
- worldmetrics.org: 4 answers, 6 citations
- gartner.com: 4 answers, 5 citations
- mobileappdaily.com: 4 answers, 4 citations
- mobilozophy.com: 4 answers, 4 citations
- upwardengine.com: 4 answers, 4 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://thecmo.com/tools/best-proximity-marketing-software (7 answers)
- https://f6s.com/software/category/proximity-marketing (4 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/mobile-marketing/f/proximity-marketing (4 answers)
- https://gartner.com/reviews/market/location-based-marketing-software (4 answers)
- https://mobileappdaily.com/products/top-proximity-marketing-apps (4 answers)
- https://g2.com/categories/location-based-marketing (3 answers)
- https://mobilozophy.com/products/automation/engagement/proximity-marketing-platform-new (3 answers)
- https://skynettechnologies.com/beacon-factory (3 answers)
- https://upwardengine.com/blog/proximity-marketing-local-businesses (3 answers)
- https://verifiedmarketresearch.com/blog/top-proximity-marketing-companies (3 answers)

## Warned against

- Simpli.fi: 3 of 7 labels negative. "Most major geofencing ad networks (like Simpli.fi) require minimum monthly spends of $10,000+" (Gemini 3.5 Flash, budget prompt)
- Gravy Analytics / Venntel: 2 of 2 labels negative. "(2025: prohibited from sensitive location sales, e.g., near health facilities or worship sites)" (Grok 4.1 Fast, negative prompt)
- Kochava / Collective Data Solutions: 2 of 2 labels negative. "Banned from selling sensitive location data without affirmative express consent (FTC settlement, May 2026)" (Kimi K2, negative prompt)
- Mobilewalla: 2 of 2 labels negative. "Banned from selling sensitive location data; must delete historic data and implement consent verification programs" (Kimi K2, negative prompt)

## Record

- Method: https://gtm-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://gtm-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as GTM AI Recommendation Index, September 2026 Edition, gtm-ai-index.com.