Amazon to launch services marketplace in 2014
Online retailer looking to provide everything from babysitters to handymen
Amazon is planning to launch a marketplace later this year where it will allow customers to access a variety of services from babysitters to painters and decorators.
The move takes direct aim at consumer review sites such as Yelp and Angie's List, and marks Amazon's intentions to establish itself in the services market.
The quality of the local services would be backed by Amazon's "A-to-Z Guarantee" which the company uses to vouch for items sold by third-party sellers on its website, sources told Reuters.
There is no details as to where in the US the service will debut. Amazon aims to gauge demand and test logistics before rolling out nationwide, mirroring its approach to its grocery delivery service, Amazon Fresh. Fresh was tested in Seattle for years before expanding to San Francisco and Los Angeles last year.
The moves reflects Amazon's long-running efforts to have services tied to every product sold by Amazon on its website, one person close to the company said.
Amazon recently ran a test on its website offering installation services to users who bought Nest thermostats.
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