Baidu enters digital mapping market
Staff Reporter 2012-10-30 10:56
Baidu's map app. (Photo/CFP)
Baidu has stepped into the world of mapping services, in the belief that it is one of the company's competitive tools after its classic webpage search.
On October 10, Baidu announced the establishment of LBS (Location Based Service) department, which, along with the Cloud Business department set up last November, embodies the direction of Baidu's future development. However, unlike the cloud-computing business which has yet to establish a clear business model, mapping services on mobile platforms can produce a direct impact on the consumption decisions of customers, thereby contributing to Baidu's revenue. Baidu's mapping service not only helps customers locate specific sites but also provides daily-life service information, thereby enabling the company to get involved in the consumption behaviors of customers.
Enfodesk reports that as of the second quarter of 2012, the number of mobile-phone map subscribers had hit 229 million in China, up 33% sequentially and 206% year-on-year. Baidu maps was the leader, boasting a market share of 21.3%, followed by amap.com and Google map.
In the development of LBS business, Baidu found the need among growing numbers of customers to link online information with offline services, leading to the emergence of O2O (online to offline) business.
Global Entrepreneur points out that after experiencing the shakeout in 2010, many small and medium map service providers exited the market or underwent acquisitions and mergers. In 2012, the mobile-phone mapping market has entered the realm for the provision of daily-life services and O2O services have also become a major development direction for mapping service providers.
Baidu aspires to play the role of LBC platform, in the hope of cooperating with many developers. It hopes to create a win-win outcome for all the participants in the ecological chain.
The Baidu LBS department now owns a workforce of 200, which covers the functions of R&D, sales, market, and business expansion.
Along with the expansion of the function of Baidu map, the LBS department has also added new businesses. On top of the location of business establishments, Baidu also provides in-depth information of its cooperative business establishments, such as preferential treatments of restaurants, the playing schedules of movie theaters, and vacant rooms of hotels. Baidu map now owns 5 million pieces of in-depth information of business establishments, which are increasing further.
