It’s the latest — and it’s growing. The number of places served by indoor Location Based Search providers is increasing at a rapid pace and is expected to grow to 45 percent of the market by 2018.
As a result — of course — competition is heating up. Major players in the U.S. market currently include Google, Point Inside, Micello, FastMall, and HERE, who together currently cover more than 25,000 venues in the US.
As the demand for indoor LBS is increasing, and more business organizations are adopting indoor LBS, the number of venues in the US is expected to increase to almost 200,000 by 2016. Thus, the increasing availability of indoor venue maps is an emerging trend that could fuel the growth of the market during the forecast period.
“According to the report, one of the main drivers in this market is the increased use of indoor LBS by consumers,” according to a report summary shared with MMW. “Most people in the U.S. spend more than 80 percent of their daily time indoors. In addition, more than 85 percent of mobile data in the US is generated from indoor locations. Advancements in positioning technology and survey methodology have made it easy to determine the location of a smart device.”
The growth of personal communication device use have enabled the use of indoor positioning fed through local wireless networks. As a result, consumers now use indoor LBS in shopping malls, multiplexes, universities, campuses, and airports. It’s also a mainstay at hospitals, stadiums, government offices, museums, convention centers, hotels, resorts, and even in parking areas.
