Amazon says home services orders grew 20 percent per month since launch

Amazon boxes are seen stacked for delivery in the Manhattan borough of New York City, January 29, 2016.

Reuters/Mike Segar

Amazon.com Inc said on Wednesday customer orders for home services like plumbing and mounting TVs had increased 20 percent per month on average since the online retailer launched the platform last year.

The marketplace allows Amazon, the world’s largest online retailer, to enter the lucrative field of local services that is already crowded with review sites like Yelp Inc, Angie’s List and start-ups like TaskRabbit.

Adding local services to its offering makes sense for Amazon, which has said that over 85 million U.S. customers shop for products that require additional services like installation.

Erika Takeuchi, a spokeswoman for Amazon Home Services, declined to disclose the number of contractors that have so far signed up for the service but said it now offers 36 million pre-packaged services on the site, up from 2 million when it first began offering local services last year.

Customers buying appliances like washing machines or TVs can choose to include professional installation services at checkout, making it attractive to buyers who might ordinarily make similar purchases at home improvement stores like Home Depot Inc.

Home services are now available across the country in 30 metropolitan areas and customer orders have been particularly brisk in New York, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., Amazon said.

(Reporting by Mari Saito; Editing by Sandra Maler)