The Israeli online classifieds market has drawn great interest for a long time, and the segment is considered to have considerable profit potential. Classifieds are strategic assets that every leading Internet company needs. Over the years, the segment has become crowded with veterans such as Yad 2 (Second Hand) and Homeless, and newcomers such as Yediot Ahronot's Winwin and Global Networks' Zeh Va-zeh (This and That)
The battle between the leading players has sharpened in recent months, and most of them have aggressively intensified their marketing and advertising efforts, and even waged war on each other. For example Zeh Va-zeh, launched six months ago, has aroused strong feelings in the industry, as it collates classified ads from its competitors' sites onto a single location.
Although the courts recently ruled that the copying of classified ads does not violate copyright, the war between the players for market share is far from over.
A special questionnaire in the TIM Internet survey for March 2010, commissioned by Homeless, found a clear balance of power between the players. 62.8% of Israeli surfers say that Yad 2 is their primary classifieds site for seeking an apartment to rent.
Homeless beat Winwin for second place, but both are a long way behind first place. 12.9% of surfers cited Homeless as primary site for seeking an apartment to rent, followed by Winwin, with 5.9%. Just 0.6% of surfers mentioned Zeh Va-zeh.
Yad 2 is also the number one portal for seeking an apartment to buy. It was cited by 60% of respondents, compared with 10.3% for Homeless and 7.5% for Winwin. 0.8% of respondents mentioned Zeh Va-zeh.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 6, 2010
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010