Pew Research has been quizzing Americans about the location-based smartphone frenzy, and found that a mere 4% of mobile Internet users employ location-based services such as Foursquare or Gowalla or Latitude. Did Facebook launch its own location-based services at the perfect time to kick-start a real location-based craze?
Pew spoke to just over 3,000 adults over 18 in the U.S. between early August and mid-September, so the data is about as up-to-date as it gets: Only 4% of "online Americans" use a location-based service that lets them check-in and share their location, or to locate where their friends are. Even when you constrain it to people who go online with their cell phone, the number is an anemic 7%.
The 18-29 years-old age group is the most dominant, with 8% of these users checking-in. Hispanic users are the most avid, at 10%, with white users at 3% and black users at 5%. Twice as many men use a location-based service than women.
These stats are surprising--check-in games are everywhere, in the media, at the water cooler, on your smartphone. But we're not actually using them. This has big implications for location-based advertising and all the marketing efforts being directed here, as well as location-based social networking and a host of similar technologies.
But is that all about to change? Facebook's announcement may have felt slightlydisappointing yesterday, but it is certain that Zuckerberg's social network is keen to dominate the location-based scene with Places and Deals. Remember that more than half a billion people use Facebook. Pew's statistics for how many people use location services in 2011 will likely be very different (as will be all of our attitudes to the privacy matters concerning sharing our location).
COMMENTARY: It is very obvious that location-based check-in services has an adoption problem. In previous post (just before this one) I mentioned that in another study only 11% of Americans were using check-in services. Whether Facebook is entering the market at the right time is debatable. Here are ELEVEN good reasons why location-based check-in services have not taken off.
- Location-based check-in services is still in the early adopter phase of the product life cycle.
- Location-based check-in services could just be a fad.
- Location-based check-in services are not filling a real need in the market place. Nice to have, but not a 'must-have'.
- Location-based check-in services are too technically complicated for most consumers. You have to download a check-in app from Facebook Places, Foursquare or Gowalla, install it on your cell phone and then remember to turn on the check-in.
- Location-based check-in services are competing with traditional media channels like direct mail, newspaper inserts, banner ads and emails. Spending on social media is only 1/10th of direct, email and online.
- There are a ton of discount coupon and social group buying websites like Groupon offering deals.
- Just too much "Deal Noise" and consumers are dealed-out and not checking-in.
- Consumers have serious privacy issues with location-based check-in services. Afraid they maybe stalked, inundated with offers or if crooks know they are not home, that they will be robbed.
- There is a huge gender gap: 90% of location-based check-in service subscribers are male. Females fear being stalked. Males don't like to shop, so they are not using location-based check-in services for shopping.
- Location-based check-in service subscribers are using them know where their friends and relatives are.
- The "show me" factor. Brand marketer's are standing on the sidelines watching for evidence that location-based check-in services generate traffic and incremental revenues. If the ROI's aren't there, well you know the answer.
As for myself, I hate shopping, and the idea of being bombarded by offers as I drive or walk by a merchant, would be a real annoyance. Besides, I own a BlackBerry, and RIM hasn't gotten their shit together yet and introduce an app for their phone. Punkasses.
Courtesy of an article dated November 4, 2010 appearing in Fast Company
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