Groupon Up, Yelp Falls: Competition At Issue?

Groupon Inc.

shares gained Wednesday possibly at the expense of Yelp Inc.

, shares which were falling. Groupon on Wednesday unveiled a time-based "deals option" aimed at restaurants that accept reservations, offering owners some control and influence over when customers come into their business. Yelp launched a reservations service for consumers in May, a year after acquiring Seattle-based SeatMe for $12.7 million in cash and stock. But the field is getting crowded. Priceline Group Inc.

acquired OpenTable in June for $2.6 billion and Uber founder Garrett Camp is rumored to be working on the launch of a similar venture. http://www.businessinsider.com/garrett-camp-prepares-to-launch-reserve-2014-6?op=1 Yelp was cleared late Tuesday of allegations it extorted advertising from businesses with threats of negative reviews. The Ninth Circuit Court Of Appeals found Yelp advertising sales representatives engaged in “hard bargaining,” but not extortion. Groupon traded recently at $7.17 a share, up 1.6 percent; Yelp traded down 2 percent to $83.18 a share.