Yelp Is Getting Personal: The App Is Adding a Lifestyle Filter to Better Cater to Consumers

A restaurant's online profile is more important than ever. Whether it be its social media presence, website or loyalty programs, consumers are looking online first and foremost before deciding where to eat. 

Recently, Yelp announced an innovative new update to its app to better match consumers with the restaurants they're more likely to care about based on individual preferences. While Yelp has always been an important tool for helping franchisees and consumers evaluate the success of a restaurant, the new “lifestyle filter” is set to take the app to a new level.

For the first time, when two users with different lifestyles open up the Yelp app from the same location, they’ll see a completely different home screen and search results based on their personal preferences. Yelp users will now find it easier to discover their favorite types of businesses through preferences such as dietary restrictions, lifestyle and accessibility.

While some franchisors were concerned that the filter may box out specific restaurants, a spokesmen from Yelp told Nation’s Restaurant News that it will not be the case—if a user claims they prefer “Chinese, Italian and ramen, it doesn’t mean Yelp will never show them French food again. It just means the foods they indicated they prefer will be surfaced.”
Considering 32 million Americans suffer from food allergies, filters such as dietary restrictions will allow a more streamlined approach to matching customers with the proper food options.