The study found that 42 percent of 18-34-year-olds and 33 percent of 35-44-year-olds are keen on getting SMS alerts on their mobile device. Only 1 percent of the 2,029 adults 18 and older currently receive sales alerts on their handsets.

“There are a few key findings in the Alert Shopper study,” said Alistair Goodman CEO of 1020 Placecast, San Francisco. “Most importantly, many consumers are clearly interested in receiving location-triggered alerts on their mobile phones from brands that they care about, provided they can opt-in and the messages are relevant.

“The study also uncovered a broad range of categories for which consumers would be interested in receiving alerts – from restaurants, movies and entertainment to sales, clothing, fast food and even weather-triggered information,” he said.

1020 Placecast is a location-based platform designed to use marketing on the Web and mobile to drive consumers to physical environments.

Twenty-seven percent of the entire consumer-base surveyed said that they would be interested in receiving alerts as long as they were permission-based.

Restaurant offers generated the most enthusiasm, with 53 percent of consumers saying they would be interested in mobile alerts.

Other top categories include movie and special-event ticket offers with 43 percent interested, weather information with 39 percent interested and clearance-sale alerts with 37 percent.

Pizza also ranked high in the list of categories with 31 percent or three out of 10 adults responding that they would like alerts.

Clothing offers received a 30 percent response and quick-serve restaurant deals got a 27 percent response.

Mr. Goodman said that 1020 Placecast was most surprised by the levels of interest in receiving alerts across all ages.

“While younger consumers clearly recognize the value of following the brands that they care about on their phones, nearly a quarter of adults aged 45-54 expressed some interest,” Mr. Goodman said. “All of these represent substantial levels of interest.”

Mr. Goodman said that consumers are recognizing that their mobile device can be a useful tool for information gathering about what is going on around them.

Additionally, the study found that mobile is a prime area for impulse shopping.

Mr. Goodman said that nearly a quarter of young men and a third of young women who own mobile devices reported making at least one impulse buy a week and that retailers use mobile and deliver relevant location-triggered messages to influence purchases.

“There is clearly a demand for consumers to take advantage of location-triggered promotions, sales, coupons and to learn about entertainment opportunities, and we can expect to see a lot more of these types of offers soon,” Mr. Goodman said.

“Retailers now have the ability to extend their marketing, promotion and CRM activities into mobile in a way that consumers find valuable, not intrusive,” he said.

“Location-triggered mobile messaging can deliver these programs for retailers when consumers are near their stores.”