Yelp Launches Direct-from-Site Ordering Platform

Soon, compulsive Yelpers on Yelp will never have to leave Yelp to do anything ever again: The crowd-sourced review site has announced the launch of an on-site transaction service, dubbed Yelp Platform, that allows site visitors to conduct transactions directly from a business's Yelp page. As Yelp CEO Jeffrey Stoppelman writes on the official blog, the roll-out starts today with restaurants that already offer food delivery and pick-up through online channels like delivery.com and Eat24, with plans to expand: "Eventually, consumers will be able to order whatever meal they're craving for delivery or pickup at thousands of local restaurants across the US."

The Platform service marks Yelp's latest attempt to streamline the way its users interact with restaurants. In 2010, the site integrated with OpenTable to allow users to make reservations from a restaurant's Yelp page; earlier this year, the site added restaurants' health inspection scores to pages in San Francisco. The transaction platform, Stoppelman notes, will soon be available on all Yelp category pages, from dentistry to spas.

· Introducing Yelp Platform [Yelp Blog]
· All Yelp Coverage on Eater [-E-]