ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla., Feb. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Revenue at Craigslist, once the worldwide powerhouse of classified advertising, dropped 26% last year and almost 50% during the past two years, a new AIM Group report shows. Traffic at the website, still one of the top 25 U.S. websites overall, continued a five-year slide and is only about 40% of what it was in 2017. "Craigslist was the king of classifieds, but the shine is off its crown," said AIM Group founding principal Peter M. Zollman. "The company still does fabulously well, but to lose nearly half of your revenue in just two years is a major blow."
The AIM Group, which uses proprietary methodology to estimate Craigslist's revenue, projected 2020 revenue of $565 million for the 26-year-old website. That's down from more than $1 billion two years ago. While some of the drop may be attributed to Covid-19, it began well before the pandemic started. Revenue declined last year in almost every ad category except "gigs." Job ads took the biggest hit, down 32%; auto ads were down 22%.
The AIM Group, the world's leading business intelligence company for marketplaces and classified advertising, started estimating Craigslist revenue in 2003.
If Craigslist is losing, who's winning? The AIM Group report examines Craigslist competitors Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, Nextdoor (which is planning an IPO in 2021) and Mercari.
"It's clear that they and thousands of niche marketplaces like AirBnB, VRBO and JamesEdition have eaten away at Craigslist --- especially since it dropped personals and its 'adult services'," Zollman said.
The research is part of a special edition of AIM Group Marketplaces Report, available for $595 at AIMGroup.com.
Note to editors: Free copies are available for coverage at 1-407-788-2780 or [email protected]. Zollman is available at [email protected], 1-407-788-2780.
The AIM Group provides global business intelligence — news and analysis, conferences and consulting — for automotive, real estate, recruitment and horizontal marketplaces and classified advertising sites. It works at senior levels with marketplace companies, investors and vendors, advising on strategic and operational opportunities and challenges. The AIM Group is a global team of more than 30 experts who understand the marketplace and classified advertising industry better than anyone else. We publish AIM Group Marketplaces Report and run leading conferences for recruitment, automotive, and online marketplaces. For more information visit AIMGroup.com.
SOURCE AIM Group
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