EBAY PREDICTS SUNDAY 2nd DECEMBER TO BE THIS YEAR’S BUSIEST ONLINE SHOPPING DAY
Over six million shoppers are expected to log on to eBay.co.uk
The UK’s leading online marketplace is forecasting that Sunday 2nd December will be its busiest online shopping day across both web and mobile platforms thanks to consumers’ increasing reliance on their smartphones.
- Over six million shoppers are expected to log on to eBay.co.uk on Sunday - the same amount of shoppers that London’s two Westfield centres see in an average month[5]
- Over half (55%)* of UK consumers plan to’ shop on the move’ and use their mobile device more than they did last year to browse the web
- eBay’s most popular categories for online Christmas shopping are electronics, fashion and toys
This Christmas will also see more Brits using mobile phones to carry out their Christmas shopping, with a quarter (23%) planning to purchase all their gift ideas via smartphones and tablets. New research* has also found that almost half of all Brits (47%) now turn to friends for help when making shopping decisions, including via social media channels on their phone.
Carrie Bienkowski, Head of Buyer Experience, commented:
“Mobile technology is a catalyst for retail growth and is changing the way we shop. Consumers now carry a global showroom in their pocket and are increasingly as inclined to seek recommendations online and shop mobile as visit the high street. At eBay we expect 2012 to be our most successful mobile Christmas ever with around 30% of the most popular Christmas products being brought through a smartphone.”
On what is set to be the UK’s busiest online shopping weekend, eBay Social Shopping – the UK’s first interactive, socially powered shopping experience will open in London’s Covent Garden from Friday 30th November to Sunday 2nd December. eBay Social Shopping is an physical installation which combines peer to peer recommendations from social media networks with eBay’s unrivalled product selection and third wave mobile technologies to create a genuinely socially inspired Christmas shopping experience for shoppers to enjoy over the weekend.
ENDS
For further statistics and data, or to speak to an eBay spokesperson, please contact the eBay press office at
Shine Communications on 020 7100 7100/ eBayteam@shinecom.com
Notes to Editors:
eBay in the UK
- Founded in 1999, eBay.co.uk is the UK’s largest online marketplace, providing a platform for over 17 million unique visitors per month[1] to buy and sell new, unique and used items.
- There are around 60 million live listings on the UK site, which has tripled from 20 million in 2009.[2]
- One in two online buyers in the UK visits eBay.co.uk every month.[3]
- eBay.co.uk receives around as many visitors per month as London’s Oxford Street.[4]
- Nearly twice as many people visit eBay.co.uk every month than visit the UK’s four leading shopping centres in the same period.[5]
- eBay is consistently one of the most visited UK retail sites, with around a 15% share of total UK online shopping visits.[6]
- 190,000 registered businesses are currently trading on the site – up from 120,000 in 2009.
eBay mobile
- eBay mobile applications are available in more than 190 countries and eight languages.
- Globally, eBay is predicting $10 billion of transactions taking place via a mobile device in 2012.
- eBay mobile apps have been downloaded over 90 million times globally.
- In the UK an item is purchased every second on eBay via a mobile device.
- The most expensive items recently bought on eBay mobile in the UK were a Porsche 911 Carrera and Land Rover Evoque both being purchased for around £40,000.
SOURCES:
- * Onepoll research commissioned by eBay – December 2012
- **eBay forecast data and Columino research commissioned by eBay – Oct 2012
[1] Nielsen Netview March 2012
[2] eBay internal data (Daily Live Listing Count)
[3] Six out ten adults shop online (OECD report, The Future of the Internet Economy, 2012)
[4] London Oxford Street has on average 18.49 million visitors a month (Westminster City Council).
[5] Bluewater, 2.3 million average visitors a month; Lakeside, 2 million average visitors a month; Westfield Stratford, 3.87 million average visitors a month; Westfield London, 2.25 million average visitors a month. (Data from their own websites).
[6] Experian Hitwise August 11, 2012
[1] Nielsen Netview March 2012
[2] eBay internal data (Daily Live Listing Count)
[3] Six out ten adults shop online (OECD report, The Future of the Internet Economy, 2012)
[4] London Oxford Street has on average 18.49 million visitors a month (Westminster City Council).
[5] Bluewater, 2.3 million average visitors a month; Lakeside, 2 million average visitors a month; Westfield Stratford, 3.87 million average visitors a month; Westfield London, 2.25 million average visitors a month. (Data from their own websites).
[6] Experian Hitwise August 11, 2012