Over the next four years we’ll have more than 10 billion internet-connected mobile devices, outnumbering the actual world population, according to a recent Cisco study. The sky truly is the limit for mobile brands and services. As the industry approaches this golden era, present market trends suggest that consumers are fueling the growth at a record pace. The latest Jiwire’s Mobile Audience Insights Report tackles these interesting facets of mobility, including connected-device adoption, location and mobile-shopping trends and public Wi-Fi trends.

Location and Mobile Shopping and Marketing

As consumers abandon the norms of in-store shopping, we see more in-store shoppers pulling out their phones to read online reviews, compare prices or search for coupons. Location-based mobile apps’ proliferation has triggered this new consumer behavior. This is just one of the key findings in Jiwire’s study on trends in location and mobility.

Senior Vice President of Marketing at JiWire, David Staas, explains how the targeting of location-based services is being dictated by the growing consumer demand:

“It is exciting to see how important location-specific messaging is to consumers today. As the on-the-go audience demands locally relevant information, brands need to focus on reaching consumers in and around their locations.”

While shopping in-store, 34% of consumers tend to reach for their mobile apps to do product comparisons, and 13% end up buying online. The study also suggests that consumers are more into reviewing online feedback than asking for friends’ recommendations when shopping. Almost 21% search for coupons while inside a physical store.

The Jiwire’s report indicates that nearly 80% of the surveyed respondents prefer ads that are location-specific, and 75% of them take actions such as clicking on the ads, searching for the nearest location, or conducts additional research on a product. It is also interesting to note that majority of iPhone users launch product researches, 25% of Android users try to search for nearby locations, and BlackBerry users are most likely to make instant purchases.

The Impact on Apps’ Ecosystem

These changes in consumer behavior certainly influence app development, as seen in Lexity Live app, which offers real-time data to retailers to better understand shopping behavior of customers in their online stores. It gives them substantial information on products being put into carts and items that are discarded while shopping. The app also records page views and location-specific figures.

The recent Super Bowl has proven that mobile marketing is a hot item, with a third of spectators watching the game having a mobile device on them, tweeting or updating friends across various social media platforms. The television and mobile (specifically location-based marketing) crossover made the NFL championship game between the New York Giants and New England Patriots the most-watched TV broadcast in the US History.

Wi-Fi Marketing expected to Grow

A good fraction of the data from this Jiwire report came from thousands of public Wi-Fi locations with ads placements of over 30,000 in North America alone. This demonstrates how businesses are maximizing investments in wireless location systems. Our own Maria Deutscher recently noted Broadcom’s new spin on Wi-Fi to target nearby devices and increase speed. Talking about speed, an aerosol spray can seems to be all you need to expedite WiFi signals these days.

In the coming weeks, Alcatel-Lucent will also unleash its lightRadio architecture that integrates Wi-Fi with mobile networks. This technology will allow users to verify using the SIM card on their smartphones to swiftly move between two networks without the usual interruptions.

Other Location-Based Services

The potential behind location-based messaging and services is only mounting. CommScope realizes this as they unveil GeoLENs Locate, a solution that is engineered to access and use any mobile location method to provide a public safety support, mobile marketing and tracking tools for friends and family. In California, the PulsePoint mobile phone app was created to help San Jose Fire Department and EL Camino Hospital save lives. This application is designed to aid cardiac arrest victims—a condition which claims a thousand lives in the US daily.