Last week we reported on an apparent mistake on Amazon’s part that revealed an upcoming addition to its website called Amazon Home Services. We expected the service to see its official launch today, and sure enough, it’s here.
As it turns out, Amazon Home Services is essentially a rebranding of Amazon’s Local Services, but while that service was limited to a small number of cities, this offering is more widespread. The Amazon Home Services page shows a coverage map that resembles a mobile coverage map. Highly contiguous coverage is currently available only in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle, with medium and light coverage being provided in a far greater number of urban areas.
The full list of cities includes: Los Angeles, Miami, San Francisco, New York, Houston, Seattle, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia, Boston, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix, San Diego, San Jose, Portland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Baltimore, Denver, Riverside, Tampa, Orlando, Austin, Sacramento, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Cincinnati, Charlotte, and St. Louis. Amazon plans to bring the service to more cities in the future.
The services on offer will vary from city to city, and listings such as General Repair, TV Wall Mounting, Grill Assembly, Musical Instrument Lessons, and Car Stereo Installation can give you a sense of the scope of available options. Other more specialized services, such as Goat Grazing (for when you’re too busy to graze your goats yourself) are available as well.
This is a logical next step for Amazon, which is quickly becoming involved in nearly every aspect of everyday shopping. “We’re very excited to see if we can solve what today is a real pain point. It’s tough to quickly find someone who is qualified,” Amazon Marketplace vice president Peter Faricy told The Verge. He also pointed out that research shows that consumers can spend up to four times as much on services as on physical goods, so Amazon’s interest here makes sense for the company.
At launch, the service may offer only a few services in any given area, but Amazon is integrating with startups, local businesses, and even national chains in an effort to offer more options over time.
