Foodies in Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver can now find the right restaurant more easily with the expansion of Yellow Pages’ new app, YP Dine.
YP Dine, which first launched in Montreal in March, allows users to make dining choices based on their mood or activity – for example, “a pick me up”, “lunch with coworkers” or “late night eats”. The app also allows standard searches for restaurants by name or location. Users can also make reservations and order online through the app.
“The idea is to offer an experience that is mobile first,” said Matthieu Houle, VP digital media at Montreal-based Yellow Pages. “[Mobile consumers] don’t really want to research restaurants and read hundreds of reviews. Most of the time, you’re in the context of being with friends or colleagues and you want to know what would be good to discover in the neighbourhood, and you want to be able to book it right from the app.”
Houle added that taking a mobile-first approach is about solving problems. “Uber and Airbnb are good examples of solving the whole consumer journey in one app,” he said. “You’re hungry and you want to book a restaurant… and the app will solve the problem [quickly].”
In December 2014, Yellow Pages acquired restaurant booking engine Bookenda and restaurant portal Dine.TO, and has integrated their functionalities into YP Dine. That includes the ability to make reservations, receive deals, preview menus and read and write reviews.
YP Dine is the second in Yellow Page’s “lifestyle app” offering, as the company continues to invest in mobile media and transition to digital. Last year, Yellow Pages launched a new version of its Shopwise app, which lets users receive deals and flyers from retailers.
“Yellow Pages is about putting merchants and consumers together,” said Houle. With YP Dine, the objective is to “generate traffic to restaurants and offer a great user experience to consumers.”
WHO’S DINING OUT? (SURVEY)
Vancouver is known for its coffee culture, but Torontonians actually go out for coffee more often. That’s just one finding from a new Ipsos survey commissioned by Yellow Pages to promote YP Dine. Here are the highlights:
• In Vancouver, getting coffee is the most frequent dining activity, with 52% of respondents saying they go out for coffee once a week or more. But Toronto actually leads the way: 57% of Torontonians go out for coffee once a week or more.
• 26% of Vancouver respondents dine out more often than they did just two years ago, while 58% are dining out the same amount. Only 17% said they are eating out less.
• Almost a third of Calgary respondents (32%) dine out more often than they did just two years ago, while 52% said the same amount. Only 15% said they are eating out less.
• In terms of favourite cuisine, 37% of Vancouverites listed either Chinese or Japanese food as their top choice. In Calgary, Italian food gets the highest billing, while French or European food are tops in Montreal.
• 40% of Vancouverites said they get fast food once a week or more compared to 57% of respondents in Toronto.
• Calgarians are more frequent bar- or pub-goers than other Canadians. The survey found 31% of Calgary respondents hit up their local pub or bar once a week or more, almost double the result for Vancouver.
