Tag: location-based services

A recent survey revealed these mobile commerce features are sought after by consumers.

Zebra Technologies held a global survey revealing location based services are sought-after by consumers. The number of shoppers interested in using geolocation technologies while in-store is rising quickly.

Among the geolocation features most sought by consumers are digital shopping maps and mobile coupons.

Fifty one percent of shoppers are interested in mobile coupons sent through location based services, said the survey. These consumers want discount opportunities provided in-store by way of mobile devices. Another 49 percent said they are interested in receiving email receipts instead of or in addition to paper copies. Moreover, 45 percent said they are interested in digital shopping maps provided in-store on their phones.

The research examined global digital shopping habits including interest in location based services.

Zebra Technologies published their findings in their annual Global Shopper Study. Also reported in the study were additional mobile commerce trends. Among them was that 76 percent of shoppers enjoy the in-store shopping experience. Furthermore, 50 percent of consumers think online and mobile technology solutions improve their experiences. They feel the retail experience is enabled and enhanced with this tech.

Over half – 52 percent – of shoppers say they have showroomed. Showrooming is the practice of looking at an item in store before purchasing it online at a better price. In addition, slightly more than one third – 33 percent – of shoppers said they most enjoy the chance to shop online and pick up their purchases in-store. This indicates that many people want to shop on their devices and obtain their items at the retail store.

Among the leading barriers to mobile commerce and location based services is a lack of trust in security. Large data breaches in the news headlines have made consumers wary of online and mobile shopping. Only 5 percent of consumers say they fully trust retailers. Still, nearly 80 percent said they would share a certain amount of information with retailers, regardless of less-than-perfect trust. Also, 64 percent of consumers value companies that offer features to customize the way personal information is collected, stored and used.

Consumer privacy protection groups have pointed out that device owner movements and data are being sold.

People living in the United Kingdom are being urged by consumer privacy protection groups to take a closer look at the location based services to which they have subscribed as many of these options are shady or vulnerable to hacking.

The recommendation has been issued by the Open Rights Group (ORG) following the outcome of two studies.

This recommendation was made by ORG as a result of its “Cashing in on your Mobile” report, in addition to a second report that was issued by Krowdthink. Both of these organizations have determined that people have signed on for location based services and that many of those options are on the sketchy side or leave mobile device users open to having their personal information accessed by hackers.

These location based services can gather information about the movements and personal data of device users.

Mobile Technology – UKIn the ORG report, it expressed that “Research found that 93 percent of punters have been opted into having their location tracked (and sometimes their web browsing and app use) by default by their mobile provider and public WiFi providers.” It went on to state that if this geolocation data were ever to be hacked, it would place mobile device users in a position in which their personal information in combination with their daily movements could be revealed to anyone who may be interested in purchasing it.

This could escalate the current rampant problem of identity theft to the point that it is not only the personal information of a device user that can be stolen and used, but also their typical location at any time of the day.

ORG also reported its concern that “Service providers are not being upfront at point of contract signature with customers with regards to the fact that all their movements will be tracked and historic location data will be used for marketing purposes and in most cases sold to third parties.” The report indicated that there are some WiFi providers that suggest that they are required to collect some of the location data for legal purposes but that these claims were greatly exaggerated.

Consumers are struggling to know how they can go about opting out of location based services even among those that are aware that there could be a security problem.