Angie's List today posted a net loss of $18.3 million in the second quarter of 2014, roughly $4 million more than the $14.3 million loss in the same period one year ago, even though overall revenues grew 33% from the prior year to $78.8 million.
Membership and service provider revenue grew in the quarter to $18.5 million and $60.3 million, up from $15.9 million and $43.3 million, respectively. But that quarter's overall expenses also grew by 32%. Selling activities cost the company $30.2 million, up from $21.9 million this time last year. Marketing cost $35.9 million, up from $27.9 million in April through June 2013.
"We reported solid results for the second quarter while continuing to invest in our marketplace," said Angie's List CEO Bill Oesterle. "We increased marketing spend during a seasonally strong period and had a record quarter in gross new member additions, which we believe reflects the continued resonance of our value proposition.
Big Deal—the company's deeply-discounted e-mail offers—grew slower than expected, only 21% over the prior year. "The Big Deal is the most fragile revenue we have," said Oesterle. "While revenue growth in e-commerce was lower than expected, we continued to make progress against our strategy of enabling service providers and populating their stores with offers."
