Photo-sharing app Snapchat has introduced new “Context Cards” in its app which uses Snaps for spontaneous discovery to enhance the experience of using the apps at a fundamental level. Context Cards display information about the Snap you’re viewing – powered by amazing content from Snap’s partners like TripAdvisor, Foursquare, Michelin, and goop.
With Context Cards users will now have new ways to find out more info about any Snap shared by users, providing access to things like restaurant reviews, reservations, Uber and Lyft ride hailing, contact information and more.
The company has also integrated Stories into Context Cards, making it easy to see more Snaps from the places that interest you. With Context Cards, Snaps have become the visual starting point for learning more about the world, empowering our community to get more information about anything that catches their eye.
Context Cards appear in a feed that at first provide basic information such as the name and category, along with the ratings collected from partners including TripAdvisor and Foursquare. Other cards include more detailed user reviews, directions, operating hours, phone numbers, ride hailing options, reservations and additional Snaps from the same area submitted by other Snapchat users.
The daily active users (DAUs) on Snapchat grew from 143 million in second quarter of 2016 to 173 million in second quarter of 2017 (ending June 30), an increase of 30.5 million or 21 per cent ear-over-year.
Having such a huge user base, and now with Context Cards, Snapchat is looking to turn its every day user engagement into a real world discovery and marketing platform and to increase its revenue.
And though 173 million is a healthy user base Snap gained after the company went public in March, it is still far behind the 250 million daily active users of Instagram Stories, and Facebook’s two billion. Snap's stock, which was priced at $17 at the IPO, is now trading at less than $14.
Snap faces cutthroat competition from Facebook and Instagram that have copied some of the popular features like Stories that were first introduced by Snapchat. Also, majority of the new digital advertising revenue is going to Facebook and Google.