Asia Pacific location-based services are getting more popular

The location-based services (LBS) market in the Asia Pacific region (APAC) is expected to cross US$15 billion in revenues by 2020, according to Technavio. The increased availability of faster Internet connections, demand for smartphones, and rise in popularity of location-based apps are some of the growth factors for the market, the research firm said.

“Users can enjoy location-based gaming, and location-based tracking and navigation. The number of people installing LBS applications on their smartphones are increasing rapidly because of this very reason. The introduction of search and advertising, and analytics are also expected to contribute to the growth of the LBS market in the APAC during the forecast period,” says Rakesh Panda, Lead Analyst, ICT, Technavio Research.

Enterprises account for the major portion of this market’s revenue with a share of over 45%, attracted by the cost-effective medium for customer outreach. Location-based advertising is being used to send targeted advertisements and promotional offers to potential and existing consumers, Technavio said. 

This segment of the LBS market in APAC is projected to grow at a CAGR of almost 38% between 2016 and 2020. China dominates the segment, with almost 1.5 billion mobile connections due to cheap smartphones. 

The leading vendors in the LBS market in the APAC include AutoNavi Holdings, Diaping, Google, HERE, MapmyIndia, NavInfo, Near, TeleNav, and TomTom. The market is highly competitive and consists of a large variety of stakeholders like LBS device providers, map providers, location-based advertisers, platform providers, application developers, navigation providers, mobile operators, location-aware application and media providers, proximity marketing providers, location-based content providers, and mobile search providers, Technavio said. 

Since LBS applications are mainly popular among the youth, a large number of LBS providers are entering the market through mergers and acquisitions to tap this customer base. Recent developments include the partnership between Sprooki, an LBS provider, and Skyfii, a guest Wi-Fi and data analytics platform provider, to offer mobile retail solutions.

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