Location Based Services: Trends to Watch Out for in 2020

Location Based Services (LBS) have arrived at an intersectional point in the dynamics of both technological, social and cultural progresses. Technologically speaking, use of GPS enabled smart applications has become as common as air in most parts of the developed world. And these applications mediate our social and cultural interactions on a regular basis throughout our waking life. Be it through use of navigation apps, social media platforms, or a simple web search, we have become one with our ‘smart’ device for improvising on the time taken for accomplishing tasks in relation to our lifestyle. And this is a crucial intersection, as suggested by Prof. Schöning during his keynote address at the annual edition of LBS18 in held in Zurich. He and his team investigate how people interact with digital spatial information and create new methods and novel interfaces to help people interact with spatial information. It is in this context that we present to you LBS trends to watch for in 2020, comprising of market trends and its applicability in various industry segments. Location Based Services – Market Trends Key regions from the Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, Latin America and the rest of the world were analyzed to gauge the potential of the Location Based Services (LBS) market and project its growth. This study by Kenneth Research, project the LBS and Real-Time Location System (RTLS) markets to grow at a rate of around 26% and reach USD 111 billion by 2025. As represented in the image below, an earlier study by MarketsandMarkets Research presented a global forecast to the tune of USD 40 billion by 2024. It’s going to be interesting to see the actual market numbers generated by this industry by the year 2025. Location Based Services: Applicable Industry Segments Retail With proximity marketing taking center stage among the various promotional strategies used by large shopping malls and expansive retail spaces, consumers can now look forward to tailored notifications and customized offers on their smart devices during a visit to their favorite mall. Simply put, proximity marketing refers to the process of relaying relevant messages to prospective consumers based on their location within the facility. For instance, a prospective customer on the 5th floor of the venue can be sent offers & deals from stores located on that floor only. For this to occur, the mall management needs a positioning & location platform, which then works as an interface between the sellers and buyers Once the customer receives a push notification based on his/her location, it become easier for them to avail a flash sale or a rolling offer. Store owners can also send special coupons or discount keys to customers’ smart devices, thereby increasing their scope of revenue generation. While its application and benefits are many, retail spaces need to ensure the tech platform they deploy for pushing notifications to customers is calibrated based on precision and high location accuracy. Here are a few ways how retail spaces can engage customers better Provides Relevant Ad Campaigns