Earlier this month, 65 businesses gathered at the iconic Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton - eager to participate in the European expansion of eBay's Retail Revival.
Wolverhampton is the first city outside of the US where our Retail Revival program has expanded to. Once a thriving manufacturing hub, Wolverhampton’s local businesses have seen better days and are now hoping to leverage the program to gain new digital skills, boost their ecommerce presence and grow their business without having to leave the city they call home.
“A lot of the traditional jobs have disappeared and anything that can bring a very proud area back to the forefront, I find that exciting,” says Tim Pace, a Wolverhampton business owner and Retail Revival participant.
Throughout the program’s kick-off event, participating businesses attended training workshops on topics such as making the most of an eBay shop, optimizing listings, shipping tips & tricks, creating the best customer experience and marketing your business. The event concluded with a fireside chat, moderated by the UK’s head of seller experience, Emma Grant. The conversation featured three businesses, Retail Revival participant and new eBay seller Paul Jones of Goodstart Jones, seasoned eBay seller Hannah Daragon of Hannah’s Games and Wolverhampton resident and eBay seller Fred Evans of Toolsave. They discussed their journeys of entrepreneurship and shared tips and tricks for making the most of what eBay is offering via Retail Revival.
“Over the next 12 months, eBay will provide valuable support to these retailers in the wake of a challenging national retail climate affected by changes in consumer behaviour and the economy. It is an exciting program that will help businesses with their digital marketing and sales skills, giving them a solid platform for sustainable growth," explains Rob Hattrell, VP of eBay UK. "In an increasingly digital world, such skills are ever more important to business success and survival, complementing and boosting in-store, over the counter sales.”
During the event, attendees also had the opportunity to connect with 3rd party partners and providers during the breakfast and lunch business expo. Here they met with organizations like the Royal Mail, the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, the Women’s Business Form, the Duke of York’s iDEA initiative and many more to learn about further services and products that could help boost their business.
Participating businesses also had the opportunity to meet with local Members of Parliament Pat McFadden and Eleanor Smith. In the words of Eleanor Smith, the MP for Wolverhampton South West: "Wolverhampton is a city with young people, so it needs as much innovation as possible. We’ve had a really rough time over the years, but now we’re beginning to grow.
This will help put Wolverhampton even more on the map. I'm really glad eBay has chosen Wolverhampton for this project.”
The Retail Revival program is designed to advance existing economic development efforts by harnessing the power of technology and eBay’s global marketplace in support of the local business community.
Learn more about participating businesses and shop their unique inventory at ebay.co.uk/wolverhampton.
Soon, Wolverhampton business won't have to close their doors every night, as they will be always open on eBay.
