Location-Based Money

Jon Swartz of USA Today published a nice little reminder of the great opportunities and potential LBS offers:

Such services are part of a rising wave in mobile advertising, which is expected to soar in the U.S. to $3.1 billion in 2013 from $320 million in 2009, according to market researcher BIA/Kelsey.

Driving the growth are smartphone sales, which are expected to account for a majority of phones in the U.S. by the end of 2011, market researcher Nielsen says. About 5% of the more than 225,000 iPhone apps have location services.

Analysts say the appeal of location-based services goes far beyond game-playing and seeing where your friends are. “Location is such an important tool for local merchants and marketers to more deeply connect with customers,” says Michael Boland, an analyst at BIA/Kelsey.