Local reviews site Yelp — which is up against big competition in Europe in competitor Qype — has launched Yelp Poland, giving it a stronger base in Central Europe.
The U.S.-based publicly listed company already has a Central European presence in Germany (launched in July 2010), Austria (launched in October 2012), and Switzerland (launched in September 2011) — though Qype itself is also present in those countries and launched in Poland as far back as December 2008.
Yelp cites a few reasons for choosing to target Poland, noting that geographically it sits at the crossroads of Eastern and Western Europe, and that the country is the only one of its European counterparts to have escaped recession post-financial crisis. (Based in the UK, that is news to me!)
Furthermore, Poland itself has a population of around 38 million, although Yelp is also talking up the opportunity presented by an estimated 20 million Poles that live outside the country.
Interestingly, as of December 2011, according to some figures, smartphone penetration in Poland was as low as 19%. Mobile, of course, is a major growth opportunity for Yelp and, to that end, the company’s iOS and Android apps are also available in Poland as of today.
Initially, Yelp is to concentrate its community building efforts on Poland’s capital Warsaw and the “cultural capital” of Krakow. However, the company says that the full-featured site is available across the country and will support English, Danish, Dutch, French, Finnish, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Spanish and Swedish. In other words, don’t neglect the tourists!
Today’s addition of Poland brings the number of countries that Yelp targets to 19. In comparison, competitor Qype has a presence in 12 countries. In terms of monthly uniques worldwide, Yelp is on 78 million, versus Qype on 25 million.
Yelp (NYSE: YELP) connects people with great local businesses. Yelp was founded in San Francisco in July 2004. Since then, Yelp communities have taken root in major metros across the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Singapore, Poland and Turkey. Yelp had a monthly average of 86 million unique visitors in Q4 2012*. By the end of Q4 2012, Yelpers had written more than 36 million rich,...
Founded in 2006 by German entrepreneur, Stephan Uhrenbacher, Qype is a community for people to share their personal experiences and opinions about specific businesses. This service helps users internationally, by providing reviews to facilitate the process of making consumer decisions. The Qype mobile app now allows users to access these recommendations on the go. Businesses can also take advantage of the site’s features by promoting their brand and managing their online reputations on Qype. The product allows business owners to...
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