AUCKLAND, New Zealand,
May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Kiwi
consumers are set to benefit from the arrival of a rapidly growing
online review site which will help shoppers identify the most
popular New Zealand
businesses.
(Logo:
http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20050511/SFW134LOGO)
Yelp Inc. (NYSE: YELP), a local business guide and review site
with social networking services, launched in the USA in 2004 and is now in 21 countries, uses
12 languages and had more than 100 million monthly unique visitors
in January of this year*.
Kiwi consumers can now take advantage of the new online forum at
www.yelp.co.nz where they can review and share their experiences in
their communities and search for anything from a place to eat to
the closest medical centre or children's toy shop.
Vice President of New Markets Miriam
Warren says the company employs local residents in new
countries as community managers to support Yelp's growth and help
consumers have a voice.
Warren says culturally-rich New
Zealand is home to a colourful range of experiences and she
is excited to watch as Kiwis make Yelp their very own local
guide.
"We're looking forward to reading the chorus of opinions about
where to find the best fish and chips, watch the rugby live
on-screen at local bars, and try the nation's globally celebrated
wines. We're excited to bring Yelp to New
Zealand to connect consumers with great local businesses,"
she says.
Continuing on San
Francisco-based Yelp's international growth strategy, the
launch completes the company's inclusion of Australasia, following
its introduction in Australia in
2011. NZ is the 21st country to have access to Yelp, and
joins the UK and many European countries, she says.
Since the company's launch in 2004, it has seen 36 million
reviews posted to its site, says Warren.
Yelp's mobile application was used on 9.2 million unique mobile
devices on a monthly average basis during the fourth quarter of
2012. During the same time period, a consumer generated directions
to or called a local business from a Yelp mobile app every second,
while approximately 45% of all searches on Yelp were done via the
company's mobile app.
Users are able to tap into Yelp on their mobile phone to search
for the best local cafe or shopping mall, and they will be shown
the most highly ranked examples in their nearest location, along
with consumer reviews, tips, photos, directions and other business
info.
Yelp's free iPhone and Android applications are now available in
New Zealand, as well as its free
suite of business owner tools: Yelp for Business Owners
(http://biz.yelp.co.nz).
Yelp was founded by Chief Executive Officer Jeremy Stoppelman and Russel Simmons, former engineering colleagues at
PayPal.
To learn more and see pictures of Yelp.co.nz and its iPhone and
Android applications, visit the Yelp Official Blog
(http://officialblog.yelp.com).
Written on behalf of Yelp by Impact PR. For further information
or images, please contact Mark
Devlin, mark@impactpr.co.nz (ph. +64 21509060).
* Sources: Google Analytics
About Yelp
Yelp Inc. (http://www.yelp.com or http://www.yelp.co.nz) is the
leading local guide for real word-of-mouth on everything from
boutiques and mechanics to restaurants and dentists. Connecting
people with great local businesses, Yelp was founded in
San Francisco in 2004. Since then,
Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US,
Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The
Netherlands, Spain,
Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Poland, Singapore, and Turkey.
SOURCE Yelp Inc.