Although a lot of smartphone users have adopted location-based services, the proportion of them who actually respond to these type of promotions and advertising is low, according to Lightspeed Research.

A whopping 37 percent of respondents to the Lightspeed survey have checked-in using a location-based application such as Foursquare in the past six months. This number is higher ? 54 percent ? when counting just male mobile users ages 18-24.

?Based on our research, consumers are clearly eager to respond to location-based promotions, but I don?t believe that marketers are capitalizing on the true potential of location-based applications,? said Chris Urinyi, CEO of the Americas at Lightspeed Research, Basking Ridge, NJ. ?Of the location-based app users we polled, 56 percent had not responded to any location-based promotions in the last six months.

?While we don?t know the specific reasons behind this answer, we do know that the overwhelming majority of these same consumers said they would be likely to visit a store or restaurant if given a coupon or freebie for checking in nearby,? he said.

Breakdown of check-ins
According to Lightspeed, Facebook Places is the most popular check-in mechanism, with 52 percent of respondents using it.

Only 18 percent of check-ins were using Foursquare and 12 percent were via Google Latitude.

About 31 percent of consumers check-in at least once a day and 21 percent do so a few times per day.

The most popular places to check in are home (52 percent), at a restaurant (50 percent), at a store (40 percent) or at work (39 percent).

Many consumers that are avid users of location-based social applications are motivated to do so because of the social connection that they provide. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they use them to pass time, 22 percent to publicize their location to friends or to locate friends (10 percent).

Suprise findings
What was really surprising is that a mere 9 percent of respondents use location-based services to get coupons or special offers. Just 2 percent use them to win prizes or enter raffles.

The novelty factor around its game-like aspects of collecting points/badges or to earn special rights such as becoming Mayor, seem to be wearing off, per Lightspeed.

?Smartphone technology has made it easier than ever for consumers to access on-demand information, wherever they are,? Mr. Urinyi sad. ?Now with location-based services, there is a monumental opportunity for marketers to leverage the technology to literally reach out and interact with consumers at the point of purchase ? that?s really powerful context.

?I think the growth of location-based marketing will be determined in part by how successful marketers can be at balancing this delicate stream of information without abusing the privilege and pushing users away from the applications which they report their locations to,? he said. ?It all comes down to leveraging research data in the right ways to make the best decisions possible.

?They should find out how and when consumers are using these location-based services and apps, why they continue or discontinue using them, what their reservations about sharing such sensitive data are, and what excites them about receiving promotional offers on this platform.?