Restaurant Sciences, a provider of restaurant industry information and analytics, released Foursquare statistics from its Restaurant Internet Marketing Study (RIMS). According to the study, Foursquare is gaining widespread acceptance among restaurants and their patrons, and outpacing Yelp's popularity in key areas.
Among the findings:
- 86 percent of chain restaurants have a presence on Foursquare compared to 81 percent on Yelp;
- 72 percent of independent restaurants have a listing on Foursquare, while only 5 percent offer mobile websites; and
- Chains and independent restaurants have more than 300 Foursquare check-ins per location.
"Foursquare has quickly become a dominant social media application for restaurants across the country," said Chuck Ellis, president of Restaurant Sciences. "The widespread acceptance makes Foursquare a viable contender to Yelp, especially as Foursquare enhances its offerings to provide restaurant reviews and recommendations."
In March, the Restaurant Sciences team reviewed and surveyed more than 2,500 restaurants from across the U.S. to gain insight into how restaurants are connecting with patrons online. RIMS looks at each restaurant's website, mobile website, Facebook profile and social media channels such as Foursquare, Twitter, Yelp, Google Places and Bing Local.
RIMS segments results by geography and/or by industry segment (full-service, quick-service, bar), chain versus independent, or urban versus non-urban. The interactive interface allows users to focus on any number of the more than 50 data points.
More information is available online.
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