The reality behind the check-in
The death of the check-in may have been exaggerated. Beyond surveyed a statistically representative panel of 1,003 U.S. consumers during the week of April 18th. Respondents were asked 21 questions designed to assess their familiarity with and usage of location-based apps like Facebook Places and Foursquare.
The highlights of their findings:
- 50% don’t own a smart phone, and therefore can’t check-in
- 49% don’t feel there is any real motivation to check-in
- 48% have never checked in due to privacy concerns
- 17% of the US population have checked-in using an app on their mobile. Of those:
- 90% have checked-in using Facebook Places
- 31% have disclosed their location on Twitter
- 22% have checked-in using Foursquare
- 6% have checked-in using Yelp or Gowalla
Which means, of those that are able (i.e. have a smart phone), 34% have checked-in. Which is a pretty high figure.
- 54% of people who have checked-in and 41% people who have never checked-in cited deals and discounts as the single biggest reason to check-in.
- For people who have checked-in, the next biggest reasons were meet friends (33%), learn about the location (32%), promote the location (30%), and to get a badge or become mayor (21%)
- People who have checked-in are most likely to check-into a place that sells food and drink with the top destinations being restaurants (53%), cafes (40%), hotels (38%) and bars/clubs (36%)