Yelp has announced a new mobile interface that could engender longer sessions and, ultimately, restaurant discovery. Specifically, it launched a feed-based format that puts restaurant dishes front and center. This flips the script from a reviews and listings-forward UX to a food-forward one.
This does a few things for Yelp including mirroring popular feed-based formats of social apps like Instagram. The new UX likewise aligns with the design language that evokes “food lust.” This can hook users in to then go deeper and discover more about the businesses that sit behind those dishes.
Moreover, the UX is aligned with the proclivities of the camera-forward gen-Z. They’ve been conditioned towards image-based feeds, versus lists and SERPs. To be clear, the new UX isn’t a replacement for Yelp’s longstanding formats, but sits beside app search and other functions as an additional option.
Popularity & Proximity
Going deeper into details, the new mobile UX will feature popular dishes and other trending photos from Yelp users. These include food pics and photos taken in and around restaurants. The feed will pull from Yelp’s taxonomy of tagged and uploaded photos, ranked by popularity and proximity.
This makes the feed similar to, again, Instagram which has similar ranking factors for its algorithmic feed. Clicking on a given image of a dish will bring users to more photos and reviews. If an image is more about the business itself (e.g., interior images), posts will link to the business page on Yelp.
In terms of monetization, all of the above is organic and based on Yelp user images. But businesses can opt into a related paid feature. Known as Yelp Connect, this lets them expressly choose user image posts to amplify. This presumably up-ranks those posts in nearby users’ feeds.
In trials, Yelp reports that Yelp Connect can boost a given restaurant’s engagement by up to 30 percent. This makes it a potentially-impactful addition to Yelp’s SMB advertising suite. Not only will the feed-based UX resonate with younger consumers, but potentially younger restaurant owners.
Yelp Launches Guest Manager to Streamline Restaurants’ Front-of-House
Volume & Frequency
Panning back, Yelp is often misperceived for a narrow focus on bars and restaurants. Though that’s what many associate it with, Yelp has developed ample reviews and engagement in other categories. These include professional services (e.g., dentists) and home services (e.g., contractors).
That said, estaurants continue to be a key area of user engagement for Yelp. This not only goes for reviews volume but also frequency. In other words, you likely visit restaurants (Covid notwithstanding), more often than you call a plumber. If not, you should think about another local service: movers.
So Yelp’s latest UX update – in addition to the drivers outlined above – signals its continued commitment to restaurants as a high-value local business category. This follows recent moves including a new slate of restaurant management tools and a “front-of-the-house” restaurant management tool.
The new UX will go live today on iOS in 150 U.S. cities. Android support could follow at a later date, TBD.
