eBay Unveils New User Experiences at Future of Shopping Event

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As technology continues to change the way people shop, eBay today introduced a set of new features that make browsing and buying on eBay more personalized and inspiring. The company also announced a series of steps it is taking to accelerate its efforts in local commerce, including plans to extend its popular eBay Now delivery service to 25 markets by the end of 2014, including Chicago, which launches today.

“There are few destinations like this. The new eBay offers an intuitive browsing experience, selected from one of the world’s largest shopping inventories, that is instantly shoppable and backed by one of the most recognized names in commerce”

“The world is changing, with the lines between online and offline commerce blurring and the expectations of buyers and sellers rising rapidly,” said Devin Wenig, president of eBay Marketplaces. “With eBay’s latest steps, we are bringing together the best of what people need from a shopping experience – speed and convenience – with things people love about shopping, like discovery and inspiration.”

In recent years, traditional commerce and online commerce have begun to merge. Today, almost two-thirds (65 percent) of consumers in the U.S. ⁽¹⁾ and one-third globally ⁽²⁾ use multiple channels to shop. At the same time, due to advancements in technology, consumers’ expectations of trusted and engaging shopping experiences have risen dramatically. With eBay’s mobile leadership, vast selection and improved fulfillment capabilities, the company is in a unique position to partner with retailers to address these converging trends.

“eBay is a technology company; we understand that retailers, brands and sellers of all sizes need a new set of solutions to deliver the kinds of experiences consumers expect in today’s environment,” continued Wenig. “We’re making fundamental changes to our business that put us in a position to be the right partner for merchants and the best place for people to shop – anytime, anywhere and on any device.”

New Marketplace Experience

eBay is blending the dependability of search with the inspiration of browse for its 124 million active users by introducing the following features:

• Collections: groups of products that have been hand-selected from eBay’s more than 500 million listed items by expert curators, eBay buyers, and sellers
• Curators: top trendsetters across a variety of interest areas, who create beautiful collections on eBay to help easily connect you with items you’ll love
• Follow: a simple, one-click way for you to personalize your feed by following the collections, curators, eBay users, and interests that inspire you
• Profiles: a customizable page - for both buyers and sellers - where you can share information about yourself, the collections you’ve created, and the interests, collections, and people you follow
• eBay Today: a new page on eBay that helps you easily discover the very best collections of items on eBay, selected daily by eBay’s Chief Curator and Editorial Director

Michael Phillips Moskowitz, eBay’s new Chief Curator and Editorial Director, will oversee the eBay Today destination, providing a daily view of some of the site’s most interesting items and the stories behind them. His inspiration will be available alongside a roster of more than 200 curators across a wide range of interests – from Pharrell Williams and Solange Knowles to Todd Selby and Kelly Oxford. These curators will be creating a dynamic set of collections to intrigue and inspire shoppers.

On his role as curator, Pharrell Williams said: “Shopping on eBay is unlike shopping anywhere else – it’s a place to discover things you love and things you never knew you needed. Now, anyone can create their own collection on eBay and fill it with all their dream items.”

eBay’s 200 curators include notable personalities such as:

“There are few destinations like this. The new eBay offers an intuitive browsing experience, selected from one of the world’s largest shopping inventories, that is instantly shoppable and backed by one of the most recognized names in commerce,” said Wenig. “eBay offers an inspired way to discover interesting items, see the personal stories behind them, and make the items yours instantly.”

To learn more about eBay’s new site features, please visit ebay.com/followitfindit.

Local Commerce

Last October, eBay introduced eBay Now, a service available through iPhone, Android and desktop web that allows shoppers to have products from local stores delivered in as little as an hour. eBay Now is one element in a larger strategy to advance eBay’s capabilities in local commerce, and help retailers take advantage of technology to reach more customers and increase sales.

“Today, approximately 75 percent of what people buy is local, found within 15 miles from their home,” said Wenig. “Traditional retail isn’t going away. But it is transforming, and that creates enormous opportunity within the $10 trillion total commerce market.”

eBay’s new local commerce initiatives include:

• eBay Now: The company plans to expand the eBay Now service to 25 markets by the end of 2014, including major metro areas in North America, including Chicago today and Dallas later this year, and select international markets, including London in early 2014.
• Shutl: The company has announced its agreement to acquire Shutl, a marketplace that uses a network of couriers to deliver local goods that same day. The company believes that the acquisition of Shutl’s technology, talent and expertise will help eBay to reach its goal of expanding its local delivery capabilities.
• In-Store Pickup: In keeping with eBay’s commitment to enable shoppers to choose how, where and when they receive purchases, customers can also now buy online at eBay.com and pick-up in local stores. This service is available today for Toys “R” Us and Best Buy, with more retailers coming soon.
• Scheduled Delivery: Soon, eBay will be releasing scheduled delivery for eBay Now, enabling customers to buy something on their mobile phone, pick a time that works for their schedule, and have their items delivered to them then.
• Now on eBay.com: The company also plans to offer eBay Now same-day delivery for local goods on eBay.com, bringing the speed and convenience of eBay Now to cities where the eBay Now service is live.

For more information, images and video related to this announcement, please visit eBayInc.com.

About eBay Marketplaces

eBay is one of the world’s largest online marketplaces, connecting people with the things they need and love virtually anytime, anywhere. eBay has 124 million active users globally and more than 500 million live individual and merchant listings at any given time, the majority of which is new and fixed-price merchandise. With mobile apps available in 190 countries, eBay delivers a personalized shopping experience and seamless access to inventory from down the street and around the world. Tailored shopping experiences, including eBay Fashion and eBay Motors, customize buying and selling; and eBay provides variety and choice for sellers by enabling them to offer goods through online, mobile and local channels to consumers around the world. For more information, visit www.ebay.com.

About eBay Inc.

eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce and payments leader, providing a robust platform where merchants of all sizes can compete and win. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. connects millions of buyers and sellers and enabled $175 billion of commerce volume in 2012. We do so through eBay, one of the world's largest online marketplaces, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive digital payments; and through eBay Enterprise, which enables omnichannel commerce, multichannel retailing and digital marketing for global enterprises in the U.S. and internationally. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.

¹ SOURCE: PWC, 2012

² SOURCE: Cisco® Customer Experience Report