PurposeThis study aims to develop an understanding of how customers of a physical retail store valuate receiving location-based mobile phone messages when they are in proximity of the store. It proposes and tests a model relating two benefits (personalization and location congruency) and two sacrifices (privacy concern and intrusiveness) to message value perceptions and store visit attitudes.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a vignette-based survey to collect data from a sample of 1,225 customers of a fashion retailer. The postulated research model is estimated using SmartPLS 3.0 with the consistent-PLS algorithm and further validated via a post-hoc test.FindingsThe empirical testing confirms the predictive validity and robustness of the model and reveals that location congruency and intrusiveness are the location-based message characteristics with the strongest effects on message value and store visit attitude.Originality/valueThe paper adds to the underexplored field of store entry research and extends previous location-based messaging studies by integrating personalization, location congruency, privacy concern and intrusiveness into one validated model.