Shop Talk

from MediaFile:

Mobile sales are helping eBay, but is it enough?

eBay said Wednesday that the value of goods sold in the U.S. through its mobile applications surged 133% to $100 million during the month before Christmas. Globally, the growth was even stronger: Up 166% to $230 million worth of goods.

That is good news from one angle. eBay is having success using mobile devices to sell goods during the busiest retailing period of the year. But it obscures another fact: Mobile sales may be a growing market, but it's a tiny portion of eBay's overall sales. And overall sales don't appear to be growing nearly as fast.

eBay's Gross Merchandise Volume (the total value of all goods sold through eBay) was $48.3 billion in 2009, excluding car sales, and that figure is likely to top $50 billion in 2010. The $230 million GMV of mobile sales is equal to only 0.5% of eBay's total GMV last year.

Put another way, the volume of goods sold through mobile devices during the holiday season is about 6 percent of the average volume of goods sold each month on eBay.

Overall, eBay's holiday business grew but not as fast as other online retailers. According to ChannelAdvisor, a software company working with online retailers, eBay's holiday business increased 11% during the busy Thanksgiving weekend, lagging the 68% growth rate for Amazon and the overall e-commerce growth rate of 27%.

eBay has a chance to use the growing popularity of its mobile apps to boost that growth rate in coming years. But if it wants to grow as fast as the rest of the e-commerce industry does during the Christmas season, it needs to find some additional incentives.

Check Out Line: Mixed ruling in eBay vs Craigslist case

Check out the latest twist in the eBay – Craigslist saga.

A judge reinstated eBay’s 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist, but allowed the classifieds site to keep eBay off its board.

The mixed ruling meant no clear victory for either of the companies, whose relationship turned from cozy to competitive and ended up in court in 2008.

“More fortunate than Goliath, eBay leaves this field with only a gash across its forehead; less fortunate than David, Craigslist leaves this field with something less than total victory,” wrote Chancellor William Chandler III of Delaware’s Court of Chancery in his opinion.

Craigslist has been keen to protect its decision-making and trade secrets after eBay launched a competing ad site, and the latest ruling will keep eBay out of the classified company’s boardroom.

Also in the basket:

Swapping your kids (clothing) online

Luxury goods, shoes, bags and women’s clothing — they’re all represented in spades in the secondary market online.

But finding gently used clothing for kids — constantly-growing kids — is harder online, says James Reinhart, co-founder and chief executive of thredUP, a new clothing swap site designed just for busy moms.

The site, slated for a soft launch this week, targets middle-income moms who are big on convenience and the idea of recycling perfectly good garb, while looking to “extract some value” in the bargain, Reinhart told Reuters.

Users choose a box that’s right for their needs, based on sex of child, age, and season and pay $13 to have it shipped to you (cost includes a small fee for thredUP). Then you pack your own box for someone else to choose, with no need for uploading photos eBay-style, or writing long descriptions (a short form to fill out takes care of that).

This tit for tat, Internet-style, has already attracted over 1100 curious clothing swappers in thredUP’s pre-launch phase. Reinhart believes the viral component of the business plan — moms will want to trade clothing with their friends, even across the country — is a winner that will rapidly expand the company’s user base.

A second tier of service costing $29.99 annually that includes perks like promotions and recommendations is where thredUp plans to make its money.

Swap ’till you drop.

Window shopping on the iPad, brought to you by eBay

Shopping in front of a computer or small hand-held device got you down? EBay says it has the answer with its new iPad app, completely redesigned for ultimate browsing on Apple‘s hippest new tablet.

The app has already been downloaded “tens of thousands” of times  since the launch of the iPad on Saturday, said eBay’s vice president of mobile, Steven Yankovich. Currently, eBay is No 11 in the list of free iPad apps, he said.

The app allows shoppers to see high-resolution images of their favorite products, even in thumbnails, and an easy-to-navigate two screen system simplifies the buying process.

EBay expects to move some $1.5 billion in gross merchandise volume this year through mobile (it does not break out the percentage it makes from these transactions).

Reengineering its iPhone app for the iPad is worth it, say executives, given the potential footprint of the new device.

“I believe the 8 million to 10 million (unit) number for the year,” said Yankovich.

Although some analysts have predicted sales of as much as 10 million devices, others believe Apple will sell half that amount in 2010.

Need an inside source? Here’s eBay

EBay, the online marketplace where shoppers can find anything from toys to cars to designer handbags, has launched a digital magazine.       The magazine, www.theinsidesource.com, is geared to “inspired shoppers” and features stories based on what eBay’s millions of users are looking for, according to the publication.

It will feature articles, analysis and opinions from eBay shoppers and journalists. The site will also point to eBay’s most-watched and most-searched items.   “The Inside Source content will reflect what inspires us on eBay, from a profile of an art dealer discovering museum-quality pieces to a breakdown of the hottest trends in handbags,” said Managing Editor Meredith Barnett.      Perusal of the site revealed postings on a variety of topics, from Kim Kardashian’s style and cocktail rings for under $30 to Jane Birkin’s kitchen and items made of hemp.           The magazine is part of the company’s recent marketing efforts to reenergize its marketplaces business, which competes with a host of e-commerce rivals, including Amazon.com.

(Photo: Screenshot of www.theinsidesource.com)

Check Out Line: A greener eBay?

Check Out eBay’s steps toward becoming more environmentally friendly.

The online auctioneer announced its first greenhouse gas emissions reduction target on Monday, saying it has committed to a 15-percent cut to its corporate emissions by 2012, over a 2008 baseline.

EBay said it will achieve that target through continuing investments in renewable energy and promoting “sustainable” habits tied to the travel and personal energy use of its 15,000-strong workforce.

EBay said that as an online company, a majority of its carbon footprint comes from the energy used at its data centers.  So, tackling data management and infrastructure will be key to becoming more efficient.  To that end, the company will unveil a “green” data center in 2010.  EBay also said it will announce a fuel cell strategy in early 2010.

Among the initiatives taken by its employees — a community garden project, participating in “National Cycle to Work” week and electronics recycling, with over 8,200 pounds of personal electronic equipment.

Also in the basket:

Too late to catch the turnaround train at eBay?

Back to School with the Walking ATM

Parents — ever feel like a walking ATM? Want to teach your kids about responsible financial management (and get them to stop pestering you for their allowance every week in the bargain?)

Check out PayPal‘s new program for students, launching today, in which a sub-account for your child is linked to your own PayPal account.

The program, Student Account, is designed to balance convenience for parents and their kids with financial responsibility, said Don Fotsch, vice president of customer experience and design at PayPal.      It’s also a push by the fast-growing online payments company, which is eBay Inc’s growth engine, to expand in new directions. The program addresses a “clearly underserved” market of the estimated 17 million students headed to college in the United States this year, Fotsch said.       PayPal currently has about 75 million active account holders across the globe. 

Fotsch said the question asked by the program’s designers was: “How do we deliver for the kids financial independence and optimize financial learnings … and for the parents to support financial responsibility?”       Parents can transfer money to their kids’ accounts in “allowance mode” or “on-demand.” Requests for money from kids can be sent by text on cellphones and transfers are automatic performed once mom or dad approves.                               Students also get a debit MasterCard to use in stores or use to take out cash. According to Fotsch, what parents like best about the program, which has been in test mode for half a year, is the ability to track expenditures since the account details each transaction.

Other online companies are similarly hoping to tap the hot student market. Earlier this year, BillMyParents.com launched a program that allows parents to approve or reject their teens’ online purchases.

The legal way to buy stolen goods

Don’t let the headline fool you.  It is still illegal to buy stolen goods … unless you’re buying them from the police.

In the same way that eBay is the world’s virtual garage sale, a website called Property Room is trying to become the world’s virtual police auction.

Founded in 1999, the website has partnered with 1,600 law enforcement agencies around the country to sell unwanted or unclaimed recovered property.

Although the latest statistics from the U. S. Federal Bureau of Investigation show crime decreasing across the country, property crimes here, in Chicago, apparently rose 4 percent between 2007 and 2008–the latest numbers available.  From a wider view, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Statistics found that property crimes account for about 75 percent of all personal and property crimes committed in 2006.

While much of that merchandise finds its way back to the owner, a lot of it never does.

On Property Room, users can bid on items ranging from electronics and power tools to jewelry and designer clothes. There are even cars up for bid, although don’t hold out hope to get a shot at the Big Bopper’s car.

Bids can start as low as $1, and proceeds are said to be split between the website and participating police department.

from Summit Notebook:

Retail in recession: bottoms, bananas and breeding

So, what did we learn from executives in the hard-hit luxury and main street retail sectors this week at the Reuters summits?

The idea of a "new normal" age of lower consumerism was in vogue, with many executives expecting consumers to continue to be thrifty for some time. Conspicuous consumption may be dead, they say.

Heck, even Tiffany's is attracting hagglers.

Even the Saks CEO is "Staycationing" in the downturn. Of course, not everyone is cutting back, so Hermes still needs supplies of crocodile hides to make $35,000 handbags. The company's solution? Breed its own.

The word "bottom" was also bandied about. Executives were hesitant to say the economy had definitely hit bottom. But many did see some leveling off. EBay CEO John Donahoe, for example, said he has seen some stabilization in demand, as did VF Corp CEO Eric Wiseman.

Taittinger chief Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger isn't even concerned about the bottom line. Just bottoms up.

And about those young American women with the word "Juicy" on their sweatpants bottom? We may not be seeing that as much, said Juicy Couture President Edgar Huber.

A suitor for Skype?

(Refiles to correct Donahoe’s first name to John.)

To sell Skype, or not to sell Skype. That is the question for eBay, and Wall Street has diverging opinions on whether the San Jose company will or won’t unload its Internet telephone service.      Skype was acquired under the reign of former CEO Meg Whitman (now a California gubernatorial hopeful) and touted as a nifty way for eBay’s millions of sellers and buyers to connect. That reality never materialized, and current CEO John Donahoe has acknowledged that synergies between eBay and Skype are nonexistent.      Still, Skype is on a tear, growing at double digits and adding 350,000 global users a day. The five-year-old company logged $551 million in revenue in 2008 — that number is expected to double by 2011 — and is now a subject of great speculation by analysts, who wonder whether eBay plans to spin it off, or hold it close.                                 Cowan and Co’s Jim Friedland, for one, thinks it’s for sale. Writing in a note the day after eBay held an analyst presentation to outline the company’s three-year plan, Friedland said it appeared “eBay was using the Skype discussion to trigger a bidding war between Google and Microsoft.”         “We believe the asset would be attractive to both Google and Microsoft to enhance their web-based enterprise application services. In addition, Skype’s user base of 405 million, which is particularly strong internationally, would likely strengthen Google’s dominant position in the consumer web app market.”

But Bernstein Research’s Jeffrey Lindsay did not see it that way: “We think the dearth of buyers such as Google or Microsoft will mean that eBay is more likely to spin out part of Skype to the public (like Time Warner did initially with Time Warner Cable).”      Huh. Donahoe, incidentally, has said only that eBay will do what’s best “to maximize Skype’s potential and value.”      Deutsche Bank’s Jeetil Patel opined that, since Skype is performing well, “Management should hold on to this business model” and Credit Suisse’s Spencer Wang said he did not see eBay rushing to sell.      “While we think the company would be open to parting with Skype at the right price (currently valued at $1.8 billion on eBay’s balance sheet), a divestiture of Skype does not appear imminent,” Wang wrote.

(Photo: Reuters)