Thirty-nine percent of on-the-go consumers are interested in receiving coupons for nearby stores through devices such as their mobile phones, according to JiWire.

As location-based services become more prevalent, consumers are growing more comfortable with exchanging their whereabouts in return for targeted advertisements and promotional offers. JiWire found that there is a significant opportunity for brands to tap into location to drive foot-traffic and sales.

“Think about the way advertisers are constantly thinking about marketing budgets, and directing resources for different portions of the purchase funnel,” said David Staas, senior vice president of marketing at JiWire, San Francisco. “The top is introducing the brand, the middle is introducing specific products and services and the bottom is driving direct response from the consumers.

“What’s great about the location capabilities that are now emerging – location-based advertising and location apps – is that brands can now bring location into the mix across that funnel,” he said. “I can connect you to the nearest store, I can tell you about local products and services and, all the way down to the bottom of the funnel, and I can get you in the store to redeem a coupon given to you based on location.

“The opportunity for location-based targeting is becoming pervasive, and we’re just at the beginning in terms of tapping into this, with the way consumer behavior has shifted over the last six months.”

JiWire operates a location-based interactive media channel, enabling advertisers to identify and deliver ads to audience segments based on a person’s physical location while taking the venue type and brand into account.

The company conducts quarterly Mobile Audience Insights Reports in which it analyzes activity across 300-plus WiFi enabled locations worldwide and randomly surveys consumers on its media channel.

Study results
Survey participants were asked what features they found most valuable in location-based applications.

The most common response was GPS and maps, followed by coupons and discounts and location-based business reviews, respectively.

At least 50 percent of consumers ages 18-54 expressed willingness to share their location via WiFi-enabled devices, such as their mobile phones, to receive more relevant advertising.

Consumers ages 25-34 indexed highest for interest in location-based advertising, 53 percent saying they were more interested in ads that took location into account.

Here is a graph showing answers to the question “Are you willing to share your current location to receive more relevant advertising,” broken down by age:

Likewise, nearly half of consumers are more likely to respond to mobile ads that are relevant to their location.

Here is a graph that breaks down likelihood of engagement with location-based advertising by age:

Forty-seven percent of men and 40 percent of women surveyed said they were interested in location-based advertising.

In addition, 36 percent of respondents were interested in receiving location-based advertising for nearby stores, while 29 percent said they would like to receive information about promotional offers nearby through their wifi-enabled devices.

Here is a chart detailing consumers’ interest in different location-based advertising tactics:

Usage of free public wi-fi via mobile phones is also increasing, despite the growing prevalence of 3G.

Fifty-seven percent of consumers use their mobile phones to access public WiFi connections, either as a primary or a secondary device, according to a JiWire report.

While the vast majority of consumers (76 percent) say their primary devices for accessing public WiFi are their laptops, 14 percent surveyed said they mainly accessed WiFi on their mobile phone, while 4 percent said they primarily used iPads.

“Growth in WiFi usage is driven by devices, particularly smartphones and emerging devices like the iPad that are both 3G and WiFi enabled,” Mr. Staas said. “Particularly with some of the congestion and challenges people have with 3G, people are beginning to take advantage more of wifi.

“It used to be, ‘I’ll use 3G and maybe wifi when it’s available,’” he said. “Now it’s ‘I’ll use wifi, and default to 3G when that’s not available.’”

Location-based opportunities
National brands are turning to location-based services to drive foot traffic to their locations with increasing frequency.

For example, apparel retailer Journeys recently launched a campaign in the location-based mobile game SVNGR that awarded coupons for the completion of certain tasks at Journeys locations (see story).

Likewise, restaurant chain Chilis awarded coupons to customers who checked-in to its locations via Forusquare (see story).

JiWire believes promotions like this will only increase in prevalence in the next year.

“In the future, you’ll find that brands will get a lot more savvy about how they localize themselves,” Mr. Staas said. “The opportunity is similar to the transition over the past few years with social media becoming very prevalent.

“We’re entering the era of local media,” he said. “If I had to socialize myself before, in the same way, how do I localize myself now?

“That’s the transition we’ll see over the next 12 months.”

Final Take
Peter Finocchiaro, editorial assistant at Mobile Commerce Daily, New York