Angie’s List might have Monday, March 30, marked on its calendar…because that’s when Amazon.com officially becomes a direct competitor.
When the eCommerce giant goes live with its on-demand services marketplace, Amazon Home Services, the launch will include a much larger number of categories than its previous incarnation — Amazon Local Services — as well as a presence in more cities throughout the U.S.
TechCrunch took a look at the (now dead) Amazon.com/services link early on Thursday (March 26), and reports that the updated marketplace will be live in: Miami; San Francisco; New York; Houston; Seattle; Chicago; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Boston; Dallas; Atlanta; Phoenix; San Diego; San Jose; Portland; Minneapolis; Detroit; Denver; Riverside; Tampa; Orlando; Austin; Sacramento; Pittsburgh; Nashville; Cincinnati; Charlotte; and St. Louis.
The earlier version of Amazon Home Services, which launched in 2014, offered services related to specific products that were sold on Amazon.com. The refurbished marketplace to launch on Monday, however, is doing away with that caveat, offering a wide range of professional services in and of themselves. This, as TechCrunch points out, makes Amazon Home Services much more of a direct competitor to Craigslist, Groupon, and the aforementioned Angie’s List.
TechCrunch reports that the retooled Amazon Home Services site lists a variety of categories that go beyond the products that Amazon sells — such as Home Improvement, Lawn & Garden, Automotive, Computer & Electronics, and Lessons. Additionally, a “More” category is in place to fulfill requirements like housecleaning or babysitting services.
While Amazon’s entry makes it a player to be contended with in the field of on-demand services, the somewhat potentially reassuring news to competitors — as understood by TechCrunch — is that Amazon plans to partner with some on-demand startups, rather than attempting to overtake their business entirely.
Exactly how reassuring a site like Angie’s List might find that news, however, remains to be seen.