Yelp Joins the 15 Percent Pledge

Today, we’re excited to announce that we are joining the 15 Percent Pledge, an organization calling on retailers to dedicate 15% of their shelf space to Black-owned businesses. While we aren’t a traditional retailer, we recognize our unique position to help consumers use their purchase power to support businesses that align with their values. We’ve seen over the last few months an overwhelming outpouring of support for Black-owned businesses on Yelp, as searches for Black-owned businesses have continued to see significant increases across categories (up 6,520% compared to the same period last year*). This is a strong signal that our users remain committed to supporting the Black community as we all continue to work towards a more equitable America.

Aurora James, the founder of the 15 Percent Pledge, shared her thoughts on the movement and Yelp’s commitment:

“Since the inception of the 15 Percent Pledge, consumers have asked how they can help. The growing desire we all feel to affect change, has never been stronger. We can use our own purchasing power as a tool for change and that is why we are incredibly excited to announce today that Yelp is taking the 15 Percent Pledge alongside our Consumer Commitment. With this commitment from Yelp, the company that connects us to the best local businesses, we will now have greater access to find Black-owned businesses in our own cities and have the ability to support them directly.”

In making the commitment to the 15 Percent Pledge, we plan to:

• • Increase representation of Black businesses we work with through our calendar of community events 
  • Increase the share of Black businesses we highlight across our PR and social media channels
  • Increase the share of Black businesses we work with for internal community events, driving awareness among our own employee population 

Specifically, Yelp intends to achieve the following metrics:

• • 15% of community events hosted by Yelp will feature Black-owned businesses
  • 15% of the vendors that Yelp’s culture team works with for internal events will be Black-owned businesses
  • 15% of Yelp’s Instagram feed content will feature Black-owned businesses
  • 15% of Yelp’s lists will focus on and include Black-owned businesses

Earlier this summer, Yelp launched a searchable Black-owned business attribute, in partnership with My Black Receipt, and in the weeks and months that followed, we took additional steps to reflect our ongoing support of the Black community. Read more about our continued commitment here.

From your new favorite Black-owned vegan restaurant to a list of top bakeries, Yelp’s got you covered by making it a whole lot easier for you to support a local Black business. 

If you’re a Black-owned business and would like to receive a window decal to proudly display on your storefront, you may request one here. All Black business owners can now login to their Yelp for Business account to identify themselves as Black-owned. 

**From 6/18/2020 to 8/23/2020, we saw a 6,520% increase in search frequency for Black-owned businesses (and related terms) vs over the same days last year.