Britons waste a full working week struggling to find their way - 12 March 2004
Yell.com, a leading site for finding businesses, shops and services in the UK, today announced the launch of a new map facility that will enable its users to make more informed decisions about locations and save time when searching for and choosing a shop or service online. The ‘Multi Point Map’ displays the results of a search on a local map, allowing users to compare the locations of businesses on a single map for the first time.The maps, developed in conjunction with Multimap, Europe’s leading online mapping and location-based services provider, are designed to strengthen and visualise one of Yell.com’s unique selling points of geographic and location capabilities.
The launch coincides with the release of new online research, commissioned by Yell.com and conducted by NOP. The research reveals that Britons* spend 39 hours struggling to find their way, the equivalent of a working week over the course of an average adult lifetime. Perhaps as a result of bad experiences with new directions, nearly two thirds of Britons are more likely to stick to the shops, pubs and restaurants they know than exploring new places or shopping around for better deals.
The ‘Multi Point Map’ is designed to combat this by plotting up to ten businesses on a single map, with the full listings below. It capitalises on the idea that location and directions are easier to visualise when presented in this way, especially where users need to travel to the business they are searching for, e.g. a restaurant – where location can be just as important a deciding factor as the restaurant’s cuisine.
The launch follows consumer research and a successful trial of Multi Point Maps on Yell.com’s Local Focus pages, which are dedicated to providing local area information. User feedback was highly positive, with nearly a third of users claiming that a single map plotting multiple results would assist their decision-making process.** As a result, the Multi Point Maps will now feature on both Yell.com’s search and browse functions.
Yell.com advertisers will appear highlighted to differentiate them from free listings on the Multi Point Map, and, as usual, they will appear higher than regular businesses in the search results listed below the maps. This doubles the chance for Yell.com advertisers to be seen by users over and above the normal listings. The newly designed maps will make it easier for Yell.com visitors to complete their user journey from finding to travelling to a business, enhancing an already popular function.
Dr. Eddie Cheng, e-Business director at Yell, said: “For many Yell.com users, the location of a business is extremely important when making a selection. We have expanded our already popular mapping service to aid purchase decisions, and save time when locating or travelling to a business.”
“Some classifications, such as hotels, pubs and restaurants, will be particularly relevant to the new Multi Point Maps, which will make planning leisure activities and expanding local knowledge effortless. The introduction of the maps is designed to enhance the user experience and contribute to an overall increase in site usage, ultimately making it easier to bring buyers and sellers together online.”
Jeff Kelisky, chief executive of Multimap, said: “We are really pleased to be working with Yell.com to offer users an immensely useful service. Most decisions are based on an establishment’s proximity to a certain area and by enabling users to visualise this for a number of businesses on one map, we help them to make an informed decision quickly and easily.”
Yell.com has featured business location maps as part of its search services for the past four years. For the past two years, Yell.com has worked closely with Multi Map to develop the design, usability and reliability of the maps it presents to users.
* Research carried out on a sample of the GB internet using population by NOP. 1,043 people completed the web based survey in January 2004
** Confirmit Survey, Local Focus, September 2003
