Tiny Bluetooth beacons are coming to retailers near you — allowing stores to pinpoint shoppers’ location right down to the rack and make offers to their smartphones as they move through the store.

Qualcomm on Monday said it has begun selling Bluetooth proximity beacons that use the company’s Gimbal contextual awareness software to send and manage information. Shoppers must give their permission to be tracked and receive offers using the technology.

The announcement comes just days after Apple rolled out its new iBeacon technology, which is being deployed in its 254 U.S. retail stores — possibly pitting Qualcomm and Apple against each other in the emerging retail beacon market.

Qualcomm declined to comment on the competition. But in a statement, the San Diego company noted that Gimbal works on Apple’s mobile operating system. “We’re excited about what iBeacon has to offer for Gimbal and look forward to the amazing solutions possible.”

Retailers have long coveted shopper location. Current GPS technology isn’t precise enough to let retailers know when a customer is in their stores. So technology companies have turned to coin-size Bluetooth beacons, which could hang on merchandise displays.

Location tracking does raise privacy concerns. But Qualcomm has said the beacons would only work if smartphone users give their permission. The company envisions that retailers, stadium operators and others will include Gimbal technology in their mobile apps to work with the beacons.

Apple said that it does not collect information about shoppers inside its stores. But other companies could go further. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about the various ways that retailers track shoppers, whether it’s their location, purchase history or how often they visit a store. But consumers often agree to be tracked in exchange for discounts.

While it’s unclear whether retailers will rush to adopt this technology, they could have incentives beyond just marketing, said Frank Creede, a wireless investor who follows location-based technologies. The system could spark wider adoption of mobile wallet payment technology, since location is one way credit card firms confirm shoppers are who they say they are.

Besides cellphone offers, beacons could trigger relevant ads on digital signs — such as a drugstore video display showing ads for shaving products when men walk by and beauty products when women walk by.

Qualcomm’s proximity beacons are accurate down to one foot and work indoors and outdoors. One model is about the size of a quarter, while the other is a big as a playing card. The beacons communicate over a low power Bluetooth technology called Bluetooth Smart for long battery life — perhaps a year or more depending on usage.

The quarter-size beacons are available for about $5 each, and card-size beacons cost about $10.

For now, the new Gimbal proximity beacons work only on apps running Apple’s iOS operating system. They are expected to support devices running Google’s Android operating system in the future.

“Gimbal — with its proximity beacons that use low-energy Bluetooth Smart — is the complete package,” said Rocco Fabiano, president of Qualcomm Retail Solutions. “Given the affordable pricing of the beacons, retailers and venue operators can install a network for customer engagement that is both more accurate and less expensive than other location-based systems.”