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By Creating Websites For Use On Mobile Devices

Late last year, Yahoo! and Nielsen undertook a major study to find out how people were using their mobile devices to access information and interact with brands on the fly. The study canvassed 983 dining and restaurant category users to determine their needs, behaviors and attitudes. The findings provide insights into how advertisers can take advantage of mobile restaurant and dining information trends.

“There is a lot of opportunity in the dining and restaurants space,” says Ashmeed Ali, a Senior Manager for B2B Strategic Research & Insights at Yahoo!. “But diners have very specific information needs. This survey helped us uncover how those needs can be met.”

Approximately 34 million Americans currently access dining and restaurant information through a mobile device. Demographically, these users are about even in terms of gender, though they tend to skew younger—50% fall between the ages of 13 and 34.

The surveyed mobile users tend to have high incomes, $87,000 per year, while more than half were married and 41% said they had one or more children. A majority (58%) identified themselves as suburban. To find dining information, 82% said they used search, with 68% going through their mobile browser and 17% through an app. Around one-third of respondents (34%) remembered seeing a dining ad on their mobile device, and most of those (77%) “sometimes” or “always” looked at it

Location is king

Not surprisingly, study respondents were most interested in information by location. Fully 67% of mobile respondents expressed an interest in knowing about dining options in their area. And 77% of those surveyed said they preferred that dining ads be “relevant to my current location.” Mobile applications like Yahoo! Sketch-a-Search and Urbanspoon deliver on this need.

Relaxed atmosphere

More surprising, 49% of respondents said they were interested in casual sit-down dining (at popular chains such as Chili’s, Applebee’s and Olive Garden), 30% expressed interest in fast food options (McDonald’s, Subway, etc.) while just 23% expressed interest in finding information on fine dining (dressed-up places like Morton’s Steak House and McCormick & Schmick).

“The data shows an evolution,” says Edwin Wong, Yahoo! Director of Market Research. “Before, it was the early adopters and ‘foodies’ who were driving toward fine dining and niche dining experiences, with users accessing sites like Yelp.com. As mobile usage has grown, we’re seeing more interest in mass market dining info. That’s a trend we expect to continue.”

Healthy hunting

Another surprise finding is that more people than ever appear to be interested in information on the nutritional values of their meals. Some 54% of users surveyed expressed an interest in getting nutritional information via their mobiles.

“There’s a real content play here around health and wellness that would wrap very nicely into the overall experience,” says Ali.