What's in store for eBay?

Despite a less-than-stellar Q2, eBay still has few tricks up its sleeve. The brand is experimenting with social commerce and a new payments platform, hoping it will pay off in the long run.

$2.5 billion: eBay’s Q1 2022 revenues, down 6% year over year (YoY). We forecast eBay’s retail ecommerce revenues will total $36.69 billion this year, down 7.6% YoY.

30%: The percentage of US consumers who used a digital/mobile wallet in 2021, according to FIS. Hoping to grab its share, eBay launched its first digital wallet in Q2, but it faces stiff competition behind established players like PayPal and Apple Pay.

6%: The percentage of US adults who use livestream shopping or video ecommerce regularly, per Bizrate Insights. Though small, there’s room to grow, as 29% say they are somewhat or very interested in trying it out. Is eBay’s new live shopping platform eBay Live the bait they need to take the bite?

$3 billion: The value that eBay predicts its new vault will hold within a few years. Currently, the 31,000-square-foot temperature-controlled vault is just for trading cards, but eBay hopes to expand to include additional collectibles and luxury items.

7.8 million: The average number of daily fine jewelry listings on eBay. The company says products from brands like Chopard, Harry Winston, and Hermès are up in the past six months. That’s right in line with our forecast: We estimate personal luxury jewelry sales will total $8.74 billion in 2022, up 16.9% from last year.

Why we care: While eBay is pulling out all the stops to bring in sales, it remains to be seen if it will actually work. If the company can pull from its loyal customer base to build up its digital wallet, that could be a big success. But as inflation continues to go up and consumer spending continues to tighten, it’s unclear whether eBays focus on luxury will pay off.

 

This was originally featured in in the Retail By the Numbers newsletter. For more retail insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.

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