Have You Taken The Yelp Shop Local Pledge?

This holiday season, Yelp is pledging to support our local businesses, our cities and our economy by shopping local whenever possible -- and we’d love for you to do the same!

Today Yelp released 50 city-specific holiday shopping guides in a special edition of our Weekly Yelp: 2010’s Yelpiest Gift Guide Ever! Everyone knows yelpers have got the lock on merry mall-ternative gift ideas and we've compiled a rollicking guide that highlights unique, affordable gift ideas in your neighborhood that’ll keep your credit card from cringing all the while making you feel nice (not naughty) about supporting the businesses in your hood.

You’ll also be in good company! We recently polled nearly 2,000 consumers on how they’re going to shop this holiday season:

• A whopping 90% of respondents feel it's important to support locally owned merchants this holiday season.
• Nearly half of the shoppers surveyed are looking to spend an affordable $20-40 a person on holiday gifts -- the Yelpiest Gift Guides have got your back with a variety of selections for under $40.
• More than half of shoppers would prefer to receive a one-of-a-kind item from a local merchant versus a gift certificate from a big box or department store.
• 60% of shoppers plan on leveraging their mobile device to help them make a spending decision while holiday shopping. Consumers can discover unique hidden gems right in their neck-of-the-woods by using Yelp’s award winning mobile apps to find nearby stores and restaurants while they’re already out-and-about shopping.

You can check out the full list of Yelpiest Gift Guides here: http://www.yelp.com/weekly. Happy hunting!