What does the future of retail look like?
Over 1,500 eBay sellers got to hear eBay’s vision for ecommerce and learn ways that they can partner with the company to drive their businesses forward at the annual eBay OPEN last week in Las Vegas.
Sellers from across North America joined eBay employees and company leaders for the three-day event to learn about our company’s business strategy, to share tips and insights for growing their online business and to network with our vibrant community.
Those in attendance got to experiment with the latest innovations in ecommerce technology, attend workshops ranging from how to create the perfect listing to leveraging social media to amplify their business, and get advice for growing their business and driving profitability.
Highlights included the opportunity for sellers to hear directly from eBay’s senior leadership team and to see how eBay’s technology innovations are geared toward empowering small business owners and entrepreneurs.
eBay CEO Devin Wenig took the stage and shared how our goal to drive ecommerce in the future rests on the strength of our partnership with the sellers—small businesses and entrepreneurs—who power our marketplace. Our goal, he said, is to build the technology that accelerates our business for people, with our sellers and our mutual customers in mind.
“We are laying the seeds to make sure our company is great for decades to come,” he said. “And one of the most important reasons that it is, are all of our sellers that are breathing life into it.”
“eBay OPEN is all about our community—the livelihood of our community, the passion of our community, connectedness of our community—and really the movement of what eBay is,” Hal Lawton, SVP eBay North America, said.
Bob Kupbens, VP of Global Trust and Seller Experience, added, “The magic of eBay is connecting buyers with our inventory and bringing buyers to the site. We want you—our sellers—to be the biggest you’ve ever been today, that’s why we are excited to be your partner.”
Excitement continued to surface on the heels of the announcement of Find It On eBay and Image Search, two new products powered by image recognition technology that make the entire internet shoppable.
Seller Trudy Amand said she can see the investment eBay is making in technology “in the fact that there are so many new and innovative things that are coming out, that have already been implemented, or that are in the process of being implemented.”
Innovative and inspirational sellers from the eBay community were also recognized at eBay OPEN in the inaugural SHINE Awards. The overall winner, selected from over 2,400 entries, was seller Angie Cardona-Nelson, who runs eWaste Direct, an eco-friendly business that diverts electronic waste from landfills by recycling and refurbishing used electronics. eWaste has diverted over 7 million pounds of e-waste from landfills and has gone from a revenue ratio of 80 percent recycling to over 80 percent resale over the last nine years. (You can read more about her story here.)
Sellers had the opportunity to attend a range of sessions, including presentations by Chief Marketing Officer, Suzy Deering; Wendy Jones, SVP of Global Operations; Mohan Patt, VP of Buyer Experience; and Sunil Rajasekar, VP of Seller Services and Shipping; on how eBay is driving the future of ecommerce.
Workshops, presentations and booths staffed with eBay employees offered sellers the chance to get tips and tools on managing an eBay business and gain insights into trends fueling the ecommerce marketplace.
Wendy Jones told sellers, “You provide an exceptional experience for your buyers and we need to do the same for you. Please know that underneath all of it is our commitment to you to take better care of you and better care of our shared customers.”
