Apple's WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) on Monday announced changes to the iPhone and iPad operating system (iOS 6) that will impact businesses later this year, once the new operating system rolls out.
The reason is Apple's improved Siri voice command system. Due to integration with Yelp, when an iPhone 4S or iPhone 5 user searches for a restaurant, dry cleaner, hotel, or other business, they'll be presented with a list of local businesses sorted by Yelp rating.
From the Siri information page:
With Siri you now have a personal restaurant concierge. Ask to find restaurants by cuisine, price, location, outdoor seating, or a combination of choices. Siri will show you a restaurant's photos, Yelp stars, price range, and reviews. When you find a place you like, ask Siri to make a reservation through the OpenTable app.
So with this change, Yelp ratings will have an even greater impact than before. Whereas iPhone users currently need to have the Yelp app installed to see ratings (or find them in the web browser), this will put ratings and reviews in front of potential customers who might have never even heard of Yelp.
With Google Maps on Android phones already featuring Zagat ratings, it's going to be difficult to impossible to escape the influence of online review sites as smartphone users increase in percentage of mobile users (currently at 47%).