Yelp has just spent $80M to create a website for auto repair estimates
The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions.
“We believe RepairPal will accelerate our broader services efforts by expanding our offerings in the multi-billion dollar U.S. auto services advertising vertical,” Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and CEO, said in a statement. RepairPal is a good fit for Yelp, which aims to be a major provider of home services. In recent years, Yelp added features beyond its restaurant and business search tool, such as an AI-powered feature which suggests plumbers, repairsmen, and home service providers for users who may need them. Yelp has also introduced programs like Yelp Guaranteed, which offers up to $2,500 of coverage for qualifying projects in case of problems.
Yelp makes money through fees it receives from service providers for certain leads — and through ads. In its most recent quarter (Q3 2020), advertising revenue for services businesses increased by 11% over the previous year to a record-breaking $228 million. Revenue growth in the home services sector was around 15%. The letter states: “We believe that there are clear synergies” between Yelp RepairPal. RepairPal has a wealth of knowledge about auto repairs and pricing that we can use to enhance our services for auto service businesses. Yelp has a large consumer audience and expertise in areas like search engine optimization, search engine marketing, and AI, which we believe will provide value to RepairPal going forward.” In its press release, Yelp did not mention whether founders Aaron Tavistock, David Esser, and David Sturtz will be joining Yelp corporate. In its press announcement, Yelp did not mention whether Aaron Tavistock and David Esser will join Yelp corporate.
