Yelp adds video feature in mobile app

User-generated business review company Yelp announced Monday that it has added a video feature to its iPhone app.

The new feature, which allows users to showcase business aspects like ambiance, lighting or noise level in 3-12 second videos, is an upgrade on a photo feature that already existed for Yelp app users.

With the new feature, the company aims to allow users to get a better feel for the businesses they are considering.

"A video can also better convey a business's space and size with a quick panoramic tour," a Yelp blog post announcing the addition of the feature states. "It can also better highlight some of the unique elements of local businesses that make them truly special."

Yelp says the company focused on statistics based on visuals, claiming that users stay on a business page 2.5 times longer if images have been uploaded, and more than 23,000 images are uploaded onto the platform every day. The company hopes the video feature will further increase those statistics.

The video addition comes less than a week after social media app Foursquare announced a re-branding, shifting away from its social "check in" features and focusing more on being a local business search platform. Foursquare Vice President of Product Experience Jon Steinback acknowledged Yelp would be its biggest competitor when the re-branding takes effect "in the next few weeks."