Auckland city businesses are powering up the visitor experience with a new app by VMob and Colenso.

Where Next? puts VMob’s platform to work with a free iPhone and Android app designed to personalise the information visitors get about events, attractions, retail and hospitality, venues, deals and places to find out what’s on.

Users can register using Facebook or use the app anonymously, with Heart of the City curating content featured on the app.

They use the app’s preferences function to choose the precincts they want suggestions for, such as Wynyard Quarter, the viaduct, Britomart, Victoria Park, Federal St, Elliott St, the City Works Depot, Lower and Upper Queen St and High St.

They also choose experiences they’d like to get information about, like dining and bars, events and attractions, or use the ‘in the mood for’ selection function or a time of day and week option for events.

Users can give ‘quick clues’ about price, time of day, life stage, event type and interest for the information the app serves.

The platform is always on and collects information to target specific users, say VMob CEO Scott Bradley and Heart of the City marketing manager Kate Cleaver.

Location-based notifications are used sparingly because some see them as intrusive, they say. “We use location with a range of other data points – time of day, weather, events, previous behaviour and previous app usage to make the decision to push a message based on location.”

Heart of the City is a collective of more than 10,800 inner city Auckland businesses. The app is set to launch in mid June.