According to a survey conducted by US mobile media company JiWire, 54% of men and 42% of women are prepared to reveal their location in exchange for more relevant mobile advertising.
The survey, which questioned 2,260 users, found that 39% of users would like a location-based coupon if it was sent to their mobile, while 36% would like ads from retailers in their vicinity.
Contrary to expectations, shopping-related ads and discounts were more sought after than other location-based services such as reviews of nearby retailers, information on promotional deals and status updates.
Users found receiving coupons and discounts to be the second most valuable location-based function after GPS and maps.
The survey makes location-based advertising the most popular form of mobile advertising among consumers, with the recently launched Places Facebook app likely to drive the trend.
Google Maps is currently the most popular location-based mobile app, followed by Google’s location-based search feature, Yelp, Facebook and Foursquare.
Google’s mobile maps service now has over 100 million monthly users, with the rise due in part to the recent success of its Android operating system. Facebook, however, made the top five even though the survey was conducted before the launch of its new Places service. Facebook’s dominance in social media makes it the likely contender to overtake Google Maps as the most popular location-based application.
