Zomato, the global restaurant search and discovery app that provides in-depth information for over 1.4 million restaurants globally, will today transition Australian users following its USD 52 million acquisition of Urbanspoon at the beginning of the year.
In an age of ever-increasing connectivity, where consumers expect access to information, peer engagement and services all at the touch of a button, Zomato brings Australia’s restaurant industry to the forefront of this revolution. Elevating the restaurant review website into an integrated platform, Zomato combines expert, consumer, restaurant and social content in the palm of the diner’s hand.
Urbanspoon’s users have been completely migrated over to the Zomato platform as of today, which keeps the best of Urbanspoon’s content whilst enhancing it with a host of new features that will shake up the way Australians dine, and deliver a host of new opportunities to restaurant owners.
The new website and app blends the best of the old and the new by bringing in best practice for user-generated content and supplementing this with curated collections from Zomato’s own ‘feet on the street’ experts.
Zomato’s new core content features for users include:
- Scanned menus, photos, and geocoded coordinates for restaurants, sourced by Zomato’s massive street team
- Curated collections for each city, including ‘Trending this Week’, ‘Artisan Bakeries’, ‘Paleo Friendly’, ‘Kickass Burgers’, and lots more
- A 5-point rating scale, which replaces Likes and Dislikes used on Urbanspoon
- Leaderboards and Foodie Rankings that help recognise the most prolific contributors in a city
- ‘Spoonbacks’, which enable Bloggers to easily publish their reviews on their blog and Zomato
- Inspiration from fellow foodies in the form of a feed which shows you where your friends and people you follow are eating
- A personalised Food Journey in the form of a timeline, which helps you keep track of all the places you eat, with chronologically sorted reviews, photos and check-ins
For restaurant owners, Zomato has expanded beyond a search and discovery portal to offer technology that helps merchants more effectively connect with customers – and potential customers – creating a host of commercial opportunities. Restaurants can now access a range of free and paid services that include analytics on how they are performing compared to other restaurants in the area, sharing events, daily deals and special menus, as well as hyperlocal advertising. This is just the tip of the iceberg; over the next couple of months, Zomato will begin rapidly rolling out online ordering, followed by table reservations, cashless payment facilities and a point of sale systemfor restaurants.
Kate Parker, Country Manager – Zomato Australia comments: “We’re excited to announce the launch of Zomato in Australia today, which will truly change the way Australians dine. At the heart of the new website and app is our commitment to building local relationships with restaurants and bloggers and working together to grow Australia’s vibrant foodie community. That is why Zomato combines the best of Urbanspoon with a wealth of new features, meaning Australia’s foodies are better informed, more socially connected and engaged with the experience of dining out than ever before.”
Melbourne will become the hub for Zomato’s Asia Pacific operations, supporting Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Indonesia and other countries in the APAC region where Zomato is scheduled to launch its services. The move will create 200 jobs in the city, and up to 400 jobs in Australia, over the next eight months.
Founder & CEO of Zomato, Deepinder Goyal adds: “Bringing Zomato to Australia is an exciting and important step for our young company. Not only does Australia play host to some of the best restaurants in the world, but it is also home to a nation of adventurous, discerning and engaged diners, making it a global trendsetter when it comes to dining out. This is why we feel confident that the popularity Zomato has already seen in other countries will be emulated here in Australia, making Zomato the country’s go-to restaurant service for both restaurateurs and diners.”
by Arrnott Olssen
Editor Rogue Homme
