SINGAPORE: The Internet online reviewer Yelp is making its way to Singapore after the company announced it would be offering its site to users in the city-state. Yelp gives online users the ability to post reviews of local businesses and in the United States has been a catalyst toward better consumer services. The Singapore site was officially launched on Friday, although the new site already has over 1,500 reviews on site. Yelp also has a mobile app for both Android and iOS devices. “This app has an interesting augmented reality feature, called Monocle, which uses your location to show nearby businesses in front of you,” CNET reported. Singaporeans are excited about the new possibilities with the Yelp launch, telling Bikyamasr.com that they believe it can improve customer service and accountability in the city. “We need this because businesses and restaurants don't think about the customer as much as they should and this way we can publicly say so when things are not right,” said on resident. The review site launched in San Francisco in 2004 and is available in cities in 18 countries. Singapore, however, is Yelp's first foray into Asia, where it will face local competitors such as HungryGoWhere. The company claims that it has an average of 78 million visits per month in the last quarter and its mobile app is installed on around 7.2 million devices.
