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Google Maps & Restaurant
Discovery 🍴
🍴
Google Maps & Restaurant Discovery
UX CASE STUDY / RESEARCH & DESIGN
Google Maps has become a powerful tool for both locals and tourists to help decide where to eat. The rise of food pages across social media has also shifted how people determine where to spend their money. I wanted to see if there were ways to help make the restaurant discovery process less segmented and provide a more native experience within Google Maps itself.
proposed features overview (new & noteworthy places, custom search terms, recent menu highlights, similar places)
TL;DR - to streamline restaurant discovery and reduce reliance on external social platforms, I proposed feature enhancements within Google Maps focusing on native content discovery, user personalization, and community-driven insights.
Context
I follow a lot of food pages to help keep up with the local scene here in Vancouver.
I even downloaded TikTok initially just to search for local restaurants I haven't heard about.
With so much content across different platforms, it makes it cumbersome to keep switching between them.
I wondered if there were better ways to highlight the actual restaurants and
business owners again rather than relying on food influencers.
Modern Methods
discovery in the age of information
Restaurant discovery has been increasingly shifting towards online methods. A 2023 study involving 5000 people reported that people use Google for restaurant discovery just as much as they rely on friends and family.
visual via Deliverect
Fragmented Content Consumption (Yum)
Publications post food news often, to the point where almost every week I find either myself or my friends sending links to each other. Despite being a go-to tool for restaurant discovery, Google Maps users still find themselves toggling between various social platforms to get a comprehensive view of local dining options. This fragmentation leads to a cumbersome discovery process.
searching “Vancouver food” on TikTok, plus local food pages Noms Magazine and Dished Vancouver
My typical restaurant search flow would involve either:
1.
coming across it on Instagram or TikTok, then looking it up on Google Maps to check reviews.
2.
looking for certain cuisine or restaurants nearby in Google Maps, then checking their Instagram to see their latest offerings.
On the surface, it may seem straightforward, but multiply these flows by 5, 10, or 15
places at a time and it becomes easy to lose track of all the information you find.
Google Remains King
Google maps but also not-just-maps
Despite this, Google is still the majority of customers' choice when it comes to looking up restaurant info, with 51% of respondents saying it's the single best platform to do so.
graph via PYMNTS
Reddit users seem to think the same too, with many praising Google Maps' ease of saving interesting spots and finding quick results in your area.
The Push Towards Community
If you've been using Google Maps throughout the past 5 or so years, you'll know how many features have been added to help users get a complete sense of what a place offers. Even more so now, it seems that Google is pushing for a much more guided discovery experience right when users launch the app.
the community feed gives a quick rundown of recent reviews in an area
In 2020, they introduced the community feed, which gathers recent reviews and updates from places nearby to give a snap.
However, if you don't frequent or follow these places in the first place, there's still a
chance you might miss out on something.
In addition to customers uploading images of physical menus, Google Maps has also let restaurants upload a
digital version for customers to look through. Restaurants can
also post updates to their page regarding new items or changing policies. Not all places make use of these features,
but whenever I come across one that does, it makes navigating their offerings a lot easier.
current native menu and restaurant update pages
Tim Hortons and 7-11 are probably not my first choices when looking for quality coffee...
Quantity over Quality
When I search for "coffee", results are bound to be riddled with every Tim Hortons and Starbucks within breathing distance. This can be good in a pinch, but most of the time I'm looking for local spots that have more specialized products. Sifting through chains and sponsored places every time is a pain; a lot of times I wish there were ways to get to the type of results I want more quickly.
The Value of Holistic Experiences
feature proposals
Many Google Maps users may not even have an Instagram or TikTok account, which can make learning about places they find more difficult. By expanding on existing tools and features that already exist within Google Maps, we can provide a more native discovery experience.
Find New Places
With restaurants opening frequently, a simple “new & noteworthy” filter can help customers quickly see what's recently popped up in their neighbourhood.
a quick toggle lets users find places that have opened within the last month or year
Improved Menu Promotion
With restaurant updates hidden within their pages, a centralized way to see new menu items gives a more comprehensive overview of the current food scene in an area. This can also encourage restaurants to engage and promote more through Google Maps.
the “new items” toggle shows recent updates from restaurants nearby
Tapping on the promoted menu items takes users to the restaurant's menu page. This could also be useful during city-wide events or food festivals where items are only offered for a limited time.
tapping on menu items brings users to the restaurant's digital menu. restaurants can also provide external links for more information
Follow What Matters to You
I'm always searching for high-quality cafes or more niche categories than what's already suggested by Google Maps. By allowing users to define and save their own search terms to keep track of, we can let users follow actual food in addition to accounts.
viewing custom search terms
Google Maps will continuously scan for new customer reviews and menu updates that match saved terms. For a complete overview, users can also reference these through the “Updates” tab in the bottom right.
viewing search term updates
Trust in Community
It can still be challenging to determine whether or not other restaurants have the same
vibe as the ones you've visited before. A lot of times when researching products or places,
the first place I'll look to for opinions is Reddit since it feels the most honest.
What if their voting aspect could also be implemented here?
a community-driven “similar places” section on restaurant pages can help guide future decisions
Votes stay anonymous to encourage more feedback, and having it community-driven ensures that the opinion of one person won't sway results as a whole. My only concern with this is that it could act as unwanted advertising to a restaurant's competitors, which would understandably not be ideal.
Value for Google, Businesses, and Customers
Everyone can benefit from an increased focus on discovery within Google Maps:
Value for Google
• solidify their aim of providing reliable community information
• increase app usage and user trust
• strengthen other businesses' reliance on Google Maps
Value for Businesses
• increase discovery potential; reach wider audiences not familiar with your brand
• less reliance on social media promotion, whether independent or third-party
Value for Customers
• discover what matters to them more quickly
• always be in-the-know
• less reliance on influencers and potentially sponsored content
Conclusion
Google Maps is constantly innovating, and as ways of promoting businesses evolve, so will it.
In fact, they just announced AI-integrated planning, allowing users to be more
descriptive in their searches.
For now, though, taking the tediousness out of restaurant research would be a nice step forward.
This app has been invaluable to me in discovering places worth checking out, both locally and across the world,
and I can't wait to see what else they have planned for the future.
MORE WORK
