18% U.S. Smartphone Users Access Location-Based Services

As location-based services such as Foursquare and Gowalla continue to gather momentum and marketer interest, comScore estimates 17.6 percent of U.S. smartphone users accessed at least one “check-in”-oriented mobile platform during the month of March, representing 7.1 percent of the nation’s entire mobile population.

The online measurement firm also reported LBS users are more likely to interact with other forms of mobile media and content than non LBS-using smartphone owners. For example, they demonstrated a higher propensity for consuming news content through their handsets, as well as accessing restaurant information and online retail sites, based on data collected in the three-month period ending March 31.

LBS users were also more likely to own a tablet, and a higher percentage recalled seeing ads on their mobile devices. In terms of demographics, 13-34 year olds accounted for the majority of users for location services, representing 66.8 percent.

 

Demographic Profile for U.S. Check-In Service Users Ages 13+, 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2011
	Portion of Total Mobile Users (%)	Portion of Smartphone Users (%)	Portion of Check-In Service Users (%)
Total Audience	100	100	100
Male	48	53.9	49.2
Female	52	46.1	50.8
Age: 13-17	7.1	6	8.3
Age: 18-24	12.5	17.5	26
Age: 25-34	17.6	27.3	32.5
Age: 35-44	16.8	21.8	18.7
Age: 45-54	17.8	15	9.7
Age: 55-64	14.1	7.8	3
Age: 65+	14	4.7	1.7
Source: comScore MobiLens

 

Smartphone Check-In Service Users by Access of Select Mobile Categories, 3 Month Avg. Ending Mar. 2011, Users Ages 13+
	Portion of Total Smartphone Users (%)	Portion of Check-In Service Users (%)
Total audience	100	100
Used application	85	97.5
Used browser	82.3	96.3
Accessed news	47.2	61.9
Accessed restaurant information	27.6	45.9
Accessed tech news	27.1	40.3
Recall seeing web/app ads	27.5	38.7
Accessed online retail	17.9	32.6
Media tablet user	19.6	28.2
Accessed shopping guides	14.43	25
Accessed travel service	11.8	22
Source: comScore MobiLens