'I have to eat this in the heat!' Tmap's restaurant search overtakes Naver Maps

Kongguksu, a chilled soybean noodle soup [Getty Images Bank]

A, a 33-year-old Tmap user, recently drove to Gangneung for a summer vacation. After parking at his accommodation, he was mulling over lunch when he noticed Tmap's place-recommendation service, "Eodigaji." Browsing nearby restaurants, he received a recommendation for a well-known kongguksu — chilled soybean noodle soup — restaurant in Gangneung and followed Tmap's navigation straight to the door.

The share of Tmap users tapping the app's restaurant search and reservation feature has grown over the past year. About one in four Tmap users now turns to the feature not just for directions but to find somewhere to eat.

Industry observers call the trend unusual, given that Tmap's appeal had long been concentrated in navigation. The development signals that the company's strategy of evolving beyond a simple navigation app into a "social platform" is gaining traction.

Backed by that strategy, Tmap logged an average monthly usage time of 363 minutes per user last month — more than three times the 102 minutes recorded by Naver Maps.

According to mobile data tracker Mobile Index, 23.3 percent of Tmap users used the restaurant search and reservation feature in June, up 2.89 percentage points from 20.41 percent in the same period last year. The figures suggest roughly one in four Tmap users now relies on the app to find restaurants, not just for turn-by-turn directions.

The growth is part of Tmap's broader push to transform from a navigation app into a social platform. Since last year, the company has steadily expanded its local discovery features. Its "Eodigaji" service — which uses user data to recommend and allow reservations at restaurants, cafes and travel destinations — has been the centerpiece of that effort.

Tmap also launched a short-form video service called "Tmap Shortform" on July 9, broadening its content offerings. The service lets users share short clips of places they have visited, with the company planning to build on that visit data to develop AI-powered personalized services.

In April, Tmap rolled out "Open Profile," a feature that connects users through their travel experiences. It lets users bundle the reviews they have written and the places they have saved on Tmap into a single profile that can be shared with other users.

Industry observers interpret the moves as Tmap's attempt to extend its influence beyond the time drivers spend behind the wheel, reaching users before and after their trips as well.

A promotional image for the Tmap app [Tmap Mobility]

Analysts particularly note that Tmap is leveraging the usage time built up through its navigation feature as a competitive asset. Last month, Tmap's average monthly usage time of 363 minutes per user was the highest among the three major map apps in Korea, ahead of both Naver Maps and Kakao Map.

Industry observers see Tmap trying to convert the usage time generated by its discovery services into actual growth in monthly active users (MAU). Some analysts also read the push to refine its discovery services as a bid to unlock new revenue streams — the thinking being that Tmap could diversify its business model, which has been heavily concentrated in navigation, by layering in advertising and other monetization tools.

chami@heraldcorp.com