China’s Location-Based Service Market Hits 6.55 Million Accounts

A study by EnfoDesk released via Analysys International revealed that China reached 6.55 million location-based accounts by the end of the first quarter this year. Location-based services in China includes Jiepang, Bedo, and Dianping.

Jiepang, which recently partnered with Louis Vuitton for a location-based campaign in China, reported that it has over one million users in the same statement. The rest of the five million accounts are shared among the remaining location-based services in China.

The figure pales when compared to Foursquare’s six million users which was reported back in January. Foursquare probably has more users right now. In fact, Enfodesk’s chart shows a dip in user growth rate over the last three quarters, a worrying sign for location-based services in the country. Apart from just counting the number of accounts, it is important to note that one user could own multiple location-based service accounts. For example, I’m on Gowalla, Foursquare, Facebook check-in, and Jiepang. That’s considered four accounts. Plus, how many really-active users do we have out of those 6.55 million accounts? (I see active accounts as those that log in at least once every month, not once every quarter.)

EnfoDesk didn’t reveal the figure but the number of active users across all location-based services in China is definitely far lower than 6 million. Location-based services aren’t popular in China yet. But given time, it could pick up pace. Should marketers adopt location-based services as marketing channels? Judging from the number of users, the answer seems like a clear no.

But it really depends on how the platform is being used, rather than blindly choosing a platform based on number of users. For example, a simple campaign by AJ Bombers managed to attract over 160 Foursquare users to its restaurant back in early 2010. The trick is gamification, where users were motivated by Foursquare’s Swarm badge, which requires 50 people to check-in at the same time to unlock the badge. The same thing can be applied in China, which I believe several brands are doing location-based test runs on Jiepang.

More location-based resources:

• HOW TO: Create a Location-based Marketing Campaign
• 6 Foursquare Marketing Tips
• Foursquare in Southeast Asia: Statistic, Culture, and Marketing