This was a conceptual project inspired by a day at the beach in summer of 2022. After swimming at Rockaway, a friend suggested looking for a local dinner spot on Foursquare.
"Why not Yelp?"
"Yelp is so yesterday"
This is Hammy, Yelp's little-known mascot
My first thought was "Oof, Foursquare is outdated" (although I hadn’t looked at it in years) but then I realized what she said about Yelp is not wrong. I’ve been using Yelp for a long time, but primarily rely on Google Maps now.
For context, here are some of Yelp’s current screens compared to a newer app called Seated, a competitor that “pays you to eat” at restaurants.
Research Methods
Age Group focus: 18-34
Interviewees: 10
For users to
For the business to retain and gain more users
Users cannot easily find sources/reviewers they trust most. How might we easily find more relevant information?
Add Feature: Top matches via reviews and personal ratings
How do you assess compatibility between reviewers?
I typically don't rate but the flow was short and not disruptive. Think it would make it easier to review.
I'm hesitant to give my data with Facebook and Google but I’d be okay with Yelp, especially if it can decrease my browsing time from 10 minutes.
Feasible considering how Twitter and Instagram does something similar [with matching users]
Users have a hard time efficiently planning where to eat with other people.
Optimize Collections for a smoother sharing experience
Considering the habit of people sharing links via text, I saw an opportunity with Yelp's existing feature Collections, which is like Google's saved bookmarks.
However, in user interviews and tests, only 1/15 people knew that Collections existed on Yelp. Even the 1 Yelp elite I interviewed did not know about Collections. Otherwise he would not have wished for a list feature.
I found opportunity here to gain more engagement in the “WHERE TO EAT?” process by creating a smoother experience that would keep users on Yelp to collect restaurants to consider, share them, and view them.
In the Suggested Experience I designed for the context of planning where to eat, Yelp users would have a smoother, less disruptive flow. This flow would keep users on the app.
Yelp is losing their users to other competitors.
Boosting the UI to create a smoother UX experience
Over 50% of the people I interviewed, who either used or still use Yelp, primarily rely on Google Maps now. And after analyzing Yelp against the competitors mentioned by users I interviewed, I found that Yelp’s design was obstructive to their overall experience.
When I asked people why they now use Google Maps, a couple people would first start with “I don’t know” then say “it feels smoother”.
So how might Yelp stay relevant?
I focused on the opening screen, UI in the search flow, and the basics of consistency.
The UI looks more updated. The map [at opening screen] is good for understanding where you are.
These sections with this teddy bear are new. The red buttons catch my eye. (It’s a hamster)
I like the map icon because it’s more useable
