Nearly twice as many adults used location-based services in 2012, as compared to 2011
The percentage of Americans using mobile phones to find local information is increasing dramatically, and the number of people in the US broadcasting their location through geosocial sites is ticking steadily upwards, according to a new eMarketer report, “Location-Based Marketing: Driving Sales in a ‘What’s Around Me?’ World.”
In February 2012, the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 74% of smartphone owners and 46% of adult mobile phone owners overall accessed location-based information services—defined by Pew as GPS-enabled map services or reviews of nearby attractions accessed via an app or mobile browser. These percentages were up significantly from the previous May, when 55% of smartphone owners and 28% of mobile users overall sought such services.
“The burning question for most marketers is how to connect with these locally minded consumers,” said eMarketer. “From geotargeted alerts or push notifications to offering location-aware apps, deploying local/social networking tactics, building out a location-based loyalty program, or all of the above,” putting a locally relevant message before a consumer could mean many things.
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