Facebook has quietly launched a review service on its social networking site. The new feature spotted for the first time by a tech blog, will help users get information about the local businesses based on the reviews posted by the customers. Facebook has not made an official public announcement of this new feature; however, it has undoubtedly affected the shares of similar services including Yelp and Angie’s List.
The statement on the new feature web page says that one can find local businesses by going through the Facebook ratings and reviews available on its official link.
Facebook already has a feature that allows companies to create their pages where the users can post reviews and read them. However, this new development has affected the rating of Angie’s List and Yelp that users use to check the reviews and rates and a wide range of businesses.
The new review service introduced without any fanfare carries a banner at the top of its landing page inviting the visitors to check out the best ratings and reviews on the Facebook to find businesses in the vicinity.
However, the launch has affected Yelp badly with its shares dropping down to more than 9% and ending at $26.88 at the close of New York Stock Exchange trading.
With Angie’s List going under intense pressure from the shareholder to sell and Yelp struggling to stabilize fighting the several lawsuits, Facebook has timed the launch rightly.
Moreover, the collective approach from the networking site can take these efforts further, which can surely give these two established companies, popular for star ratings a big jolt.
To improve, Facebook too will have to put in a bit of hard work, especially on the most important aspect regarding reviews and ratings, the credibility.
The review section of the Facebook offers wide category options ranging from plumbers, bars, restaurants to beauticians, golfers, pet services, and automobiles. Until now, no comment has been received from Facebook on this new development.
