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One-quarter of Australians currently use, and 65% interested in receiving, some form of location-based service
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Widespread fears for security and privacy exist including dangers of being stalked, tracked or badgered by advertising
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Despite strongly held fears, positives are perceived to outweigh negatives
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Advertising not welcome but special offers or vouchers are – branded communications must have something in it for consumers; the relevance of location is not enough to warrant advertising to a personal device
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Mobile dating forecast to take off as location-based services grow
The use of location-based services on mobile devices is set to explode with fears for security and privacy outweighed by the perceived benefits of the technology according to custom research agency TNS’ Global Telecomms Insights (GTI) study.
Despite strongly held fears about potential negatives associated with location-based services, more believe the benefits outweigh potential concerns (41%) than the concerns outweigh potential benefits (13%).
According to TNS’ director of technology research, Kim Albert, Australians are keen to start using location to access services via mobile devices, with 65% expressing interest in receiving at least one form of location-based services. “Of most interest to Australians are vouchers/ special offers (49%), public transport and travel information (43%) and map searches/ navigation services (42%),” Albert said.
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Want to receive
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Don't to receive
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Already receive
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Vouchers / special offers
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49%
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42%
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9%
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Public transport and travel information
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43%
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44%
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13%
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Maps / navigation services
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42%
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45%
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13%
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Advertising
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26%
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64%
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10%
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Location-based games
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19%
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76%
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5%
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Location-based social networking
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16%
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74%
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10%
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Dating
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10%
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87%
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3%
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Q: Please indicate below which of the following location-based services you currently use or would be interested in using.
Generally consideration of location-based services is higher amongst younger, more affluent and better educated groups. For some services, interest is isolated to niche groups and not of broader interest – gaming remains the domain of young men, social networking is heavily favoured by 16-34 year olds and dating shows promise amongst single men.
“Dating is an interesting one – the stigma around online dating has dissipated as it has become more commonplace,” Albert said.
“The next evolution for dating will be into the mobile space, with apps such as Plenty of Fish, iDate and Grindr allowing singles to find a potential mate nearby whenever they like.” One in five (20%) single men expressed interest in receiving location-based dating information, and disturbingly, 10% of men in a relationship would also like to access this information. Generally the desired form of access is via pull (when user requests the information), apart from special offers for which 77% of those interested in receiving would like to receive via a push notification (sent without user request).
The most commonly held fears centred around being tracked by information posted on social networks or being identified and constantly marketed to by businesses.
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I am not comfortable sharing my home address on social networks
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84%
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Sharing information on my whereabouts on social networks could be dangerous, e.g. I might be stalked, or my home broken into
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79%
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I’m worried about the number of messages I’d receive from businesses
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78%
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I’m worried about the cost of downloading location-based information to my mobile phone
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77%
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I’m not comfortable sharing information on my whereabouts on social networks as I don’t want people to always know where I am
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76%
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I’m not open to receiving marketing information directly to my phone
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73%
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I’m not comfortable sharing information on my whereabouts with businesses as I think it could be used to identify me personally
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66%
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I’m concerned that the networks can get into my private information stored on my mobile phone (e.g. calendar, contacts)
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61%
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I don’t really understand how this technology works
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30%
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Location-based services are difficult to use on my mobile phone
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28%
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Q: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements about sharing your location via a mobile device? (% agree/ strongly agree)
“In essence, while consumers strongly display fears associated with revealing their location, they are happy to do so, and even receive unsolicited offers, if there is something in it for them,” Albert said.
“Similar to what we’re seeing with iPhone’s App Store and amazon.com, consumers don’t raise concerns about having their information collected if there is a tangible benefit as pay off, such as offers based on our past purchases or consumers with similar tastes to our own.”
About TNS
As a global custom research agency with over 40 years in the Australian market, TNS delivers customised research and consultancy with deep understanding of local markets. The company is divided into specialist teams, focusing on consumer, technology, finance and business, social research (government and NGOS), and travel and leisure industry sectors. TNS is the largest custom research agency globally and in Australia, and a WPP group company.
Media enquiries: Contact Chris Byrne (02) 9563 4232 or chris.byrne@tns-global.com
TNS’ Global Telecommunications Insights (GTI) Study was conducted in July 2010 with 1,004 Australians.
