eBay is extending the ways in which it collaborates with start-ups and other small and midsized merchants to develop online storefronts and stop the recent decline in the gross sales of the marketplace. eBay’s origins are in domestic e-commerce sales.
More than two thirds of eBay Inc.’s small and midsized sellers worldwide anticipate revenue increases over the next 12 months, according to input the company has received from these vendors.
“Sellers and buyers are getting really engaged in eBay Live.”
With a plethora of enterprising sellers, it was this type of broad-based development projection that started the e-commerce pioneer in the mid-1990s.
eBay is targeting “enthusiast buyers” of unique items ranging from sneakers and baseball trading cards to luxury handbags, so it makes sense that the company is attempting to stimulate further growth with a plethora of new selling tools for today’s sellers, including rapidly expanding small and midsize businesses.
“We’re really focused on, How do we meet the needs of these enthusiast buyers?” says Michelle Warvel, vice president of product and seller experience. She states that such buyers account for about 70% of eBay’s annual gross merchandise volume sold on its marketplace.
What we see is that they are contemplating the sellers’ experiences: how to construct tools for the sellers such that when they list a sneaker or a luxury handbag, the appropriate guidance is provided to ensure they meet their buyers at the right juncture.
The new collection of tools from eBay includes:
- AI-generated content for “magical listings,” which, according to eBay, has led to the creation of longer, more thorough product descriptions intended to assist sellers in moving more unique items.
- Automated online offers that vendors make to buyers via eBay’s M2M messaging service in an effort to draw attention to reduced prices or other product offers intended to pique interest in otherwise dormant or “stale” goods listings.
- Coordinating “shoppable posts” across several social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.
- eBay claims that since its May launch, its interactive livestream selling service, eBay Live, has become more popular among sellers and customers.
While each of eBay’s new tools for sellers has a specific function, they all work towards the same goal – engaging customers who seek out more thrilling experiences, including speaking with a seller during an eBay Live live-streamed sales event.
According to Digital Commerce 360’s latest 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report, Ebay is ranked sixth. The 100 biggest of these marketplaces by third-party GMV in 2023 are ranked by the Global Online Marketplaces Database.
Thinking about ‘the future of e-commerce’
“EBay Live is a new platform that we just launched for our sellers, and that’s allowed them to reach a whole new audience—that Gen Z consumer who loves to watch live shopping and gets to chat directly with the seller,” Warvel says. “It’s just been a really interesting way to think about the future of commerce.
During a recent second-quarter earnings call, eBay’s president and CEO, Jamie Iannone, stated that the company is building its continued development strategy around “the three pillars of relevant experience, scalable solutions, and magical innovation.”
eBay’s measures come in response to its recent, inconsistent market activity.
The company reported a 5% year-over-year growth in sales to $2.5 billion for the second quarter that ended on June 30, but a 12% decline in gross merchandise volume to $18.2 billion. Revenue decreased by 6% to $9.8 billion for the entire year 2022, while GMV decreased by 15% to $73.9 billion.
During a Q2 earnings call, Michael Morton, an analyst with Moffett Nathanson, questioned, “Are you having some effectiveness in converting the millennials and Gen Z, who may have grown up in a different era of interacting with marketplaces?,” which made investment analysts highlight the significance of reaching new customers.
Iannone retorted that eBay was seeing a noteworthy response to the recently introduced eBay Live, in addition to launching new brands that are popular with younger individuals. Within the first few months, eBay conducted “over 300” eBay Live commerce events, according to him.
“Sellers and buyers are getting really engaged in that,” he said. “And so that opportunity for us is to drive that customer lifetime value for a buyer as well as attract those new buyers on the platform.”
In the eBay Live Hub, eBay provides a schedule of forthcoming eBay Live events.
Using AI to interact with consumers
According to Warvel, eBay is also drawing on its lengthy experience of online sales to give sellers access to a wealth of customer demand data that has been improved by artificial intelligence (AI) to help them create more successful product listings.
“EBay knows what buyers want; we know what types of things a sneakerhead, for example, wants to understand about the condition of the shoe before they purchase,” she says.
However, Warvel points out that many sellers have expertise with AI. eBay will keep working with sellers and AI to enhance how the most valuable product features show up in product listings and site searches.
“Optimising and being dynamic in the listing based on the item that they’re selling is something that we’re working on the magical listing flow,” she states.
According to a recent poll conducted by eBay among 4,334 sellers throughout the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Japan, and Australia, 68% of participants anticipate growth in their eBay business over the next five years, and 55% anticipate growth in their entire business over the next twelve months. The poll was carried out by eBay in collaboration with global analytics and advisory firm GlobeScan.
(Tashia Bernardus)