More than 50% of mobile users want location-aware advertising

Oh you crazy, location-loving mobile phone users. When given the choice of all these cool endeavors like geo-caching and Foursquaring, you had to go pick navigation and location-aware coupons as your top two favorite location-based services. It is understandable that you could not resist the allure of instant savings and chose it over treasure hunting and check-ins.

According to a survey conducted by mobile media company JiWire, over 50% of mobile users would gladly receive location-aware advertising. Approximately, 39% would enjoy a location-based coupon or two if it was sent to their handset and a modest 36% would look forward to ads from stores that are in their immediate vicinity. Surprisingly, these shopping-oriented location services ranked higher than reviews, check-ins, and status updating.

Which demographics are asking for a big ole serving of mobile advertising? According to the study, it is primarily the men who edge out the ladies. More men (54%) than women (42%) will reveal their location in order to receive locally relevant advertising. Men (47%) are also more likely to click on a location-aware advertisement than their female counterparts (40%). Age-wise, it is the 25-44 year olds who are most open about their location; while the younger folks and older folks are a bit more reserved when it comes to broadcasting their whereabouts.

Of all the location-based apps that are available, the most popular is Google Maps which is followed by Google (presumably the location-based search feature), Yelp, Facebook, and Foursquare which round out the top five. Interestingly enough, Facebook ranks higher than Foursquare even though the social network had not yet announced its location-based Places feature at the time of this survey. Crazy, isn’t it?

For those that want even more facts and figures, you can grab the full report in PDF format from JiWire. Enjoy!

[Via Mashable and JiWire]