Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Porch expands home services partners to compete with amazon

porch expands retailer partnerships compete amazon home services app
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Porch.com, the Seattle startup that manages an online marketplace for users to connect with home improvement professionals, expanded its partnerships this week to further compete with Amazon’s similar retailer integration services.

Earlier this week, the company announced a deal resulting in a partnership with Rejuvenation, a home goods store owned by Williams-Sonoma, “to offer assembly and installation services to customers buying online or in-stores,” the Seattle Times reported. “Customers can add ‘Porch Home Services’ to their digital shopping cart, or opt-in while shopping in brick-and-mortar stores, to get connected with a Porch contractor.”

The move makes Porch — and its partners — competitive with the similar Amazon Home Services, which extended to 30 major metro areas as of April 2016. Rejuvenation marks the fourth such partnership Porch has made, including Lowe’s, ATG Stores, and Wayfair.

Offering the assembly and installation of the products sold in partner stores and websites, users can opt to purchase from their favorite retailers with easy integration to Porch.com’s vast home services marketplace.

The advantage to Porch is the ability to take a cut from the retailer’s sales, while giving those retailers a boost in sales and customers a simple way to get housework done, all at the point of sale.

For Amazon, the benefit is similar, but through vertically integrated models. As the Seattle Times wrote in April, “Amazon Home Services not only adds a new segment to that pillar, but also enables its online store to sell more things, by, say, selling both a new TV and the service to mount it on a wall.”

While Porch’s new partnership certainly competes with Amazon’s Home Services division, the Seattle Times noted potential difficulty attracting customers away from Amazon, “which has the advantage of a popular brand and loyal customer base.”

As for the deal with Rejuvenation, Porch’s services will be available in 28 Rejuvenation markets, including the greater Seattle area.

Editors' Recommendations

Harrison Kaminsky
Harrison’s obsession in the tech space originated in his father’s electronics store in Denville, New Jersey, where he…
Amazon Fire TV update turns Echo devices into wireless home theater speakers
Amazon Echo Sub

Amazon has released a new firmware update for the Amazon Echo, Amazon Echo Dot, Amazon Echo Plus, and Amazon Echo Studio that introduces the option to have them moonlight as an additional speaker while watching content through an Amazon Fire TV Cube, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or Amazon TV Stick 4K. The update amounts to a makeshift home theater solution for anyone looking to breathe fresh life into their entertainment setup with existing hardware.

You have the option to hook up as many as two Echo devices and an Echo Sub to create a makeshift 2.1 surround sound system. It shouldn't sound bad, either. The Echo Studio can handle Dolby Atmos, while both the latest Echo and Echo Plus have Dolby Audio Processing to boot. This essentially means they're armed with the same tools the basic home-theater-in-a-box setups have, even if the actual speakers themselves aren't quite on the same level.

Read more
The Amazon Echo Flex is compact enough to bring Alexa everywhere in the home
echo flex brings alexa to smart home accessories in the amazon

In a flurry of announcements at its event in Seattle today, Amazon dropped news of never-before-seen Echo products. One of these is the Echo Flex, a small speaker that can be used to spread Alexa throughout your home and to plug in other accessories. It takes up only a single power outlet, so it won't dominate the space it's placed in. The Echo Flex is available for pre-order today and is slated to retail for $25, while its accessories will retail for $15 each.

The Echo Flex does have a speaker, but it's too small and tinny to be suitable for music. On the other hand, the speaker is perfect for Alexa's voice. The first two accessories Amazon announced are a motion sensor and a smart night-light that can be placed in the hallway, bathroom, or elsewhere.

Read more
Amazon will give you $5K in free smart home tech and more when you buy a house
smart home trends ring beams

You can now get up to $5,000 in Amazon credit if you buy a house through Amazon’s new TurnKey real estate partnership. 

The $5,000 incentive was announced Tuesday and includes smart home and home theater equipment along with services like unpacking and cleaning.

Read more