If it’s hot in the news, it’s hot on eBay.co.uk. The UK’s largest online marketplace is a barometer of the latest trends, and 2010 was no exception. From World Cup fever to the crowning of a new fashion icon, here’s a round-up of what everybody’s been talking about – and buying – this year.
- The Alexa effect. In a distant time, not so long ago, she was known as “that presenter from T4” but 2010 has been Alexa Chung’s year and now it seems whatever she wears, we want. Not only did she have a Mulberry bag named after her, she appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine in a pair of clogs and a month later frugal fashionistas flocked to eBay to get their hands on a pair, causing sales of clogs to rise by 195%.
- Style fit for a Queen. We might not all be marrying a Prince, but shoppers still want their share of Kate Middleton’s regal style and have been visiting eBay.co.uk to get the look, causing sales of blue dresses to jump by 71% in the week after the engagement was announced.
- Mad Men mania. The 50s look, inspired by TV show Mad Men has been a must-have for followers of fashion in 2010. Fans went crazy for Mad Men on eBay with the resurgence of glamour sparking sales of full skirts to rise by 252%, while sling-back shoes soared by a staggering 600%. Betty Draper would be proud.
- Famous fans. eBay has a whole host of celebrity fans and this year Cherie Blair was the latest to be revealed as an eBay addict. Mrs Blair sold 120 items in 2010, listing everything from an ink cartridge to her husband’s autograph, which was sold for a paltry £10. Cherie loves to bag a bargain too and placed the winning bid on a pair of bathroom scales for a mere £1.64 – a steal for someone worth in excess of £60million.*
- SATC style crush. Women everywhere paid homage to their Sex and the City style icons when the second film hit our screens back in May. Brits went SATC crazy as they prepared for the sequel’s launch, with sales of Manolos soaring by a jaw dropping 500%. ‘Cocktail dress’ was the 3rd most searched for term on eBay for two months after the premiere.
- World Cup fever. 2010 saw South Africa play host to the World Cup as sales of vuvuzelas rocketed by over 512% on eBay. Football fans were also locked in a bidding frenzy at the end of the tournament when the winning World Cup ball was sold for £52,000, with all proceeds going to charity.
eBay 2010 in numbers:
- 17 million: Shoppers who visit eBay every month
- 34: The number of high street brands currently available on the eBay Fashion Outlet at discounted prices
- 43: Equals the five pairs of jeans, 19 pairs of shoes, 18 t-shirt tops and four handbags that were bought every minute on eBay.co.uk in 2010
- 17 items: The number of items bought per second on December 5th 2010, the busiest ever shopping on eBay.co.uk, with 5.4 million visitors in just 24 hours
- 10 million: The amount spent on toys alone on eBay.co.uk this year
- 90, 000: Number of searches for Lego in the run up to Christmas 2010
- 366,000: Brits who plan on listing unwanted gifts on Christmas day 2010
- 26 million: Registered eBay users in the UK in 2010
- 120, 000: eBay searches for iPhones in December alone
- Ends -
For further information or interviews with an eBay spokesperson, please contact Shine Communications on 0207 100 7100:
Rachel Byrne: rachel.byrne@shinecom.com or Aimee Taylor: aimee.taylor@shinecom.com
Notes to Editors:
Notes to editors:
*Source – Daily Mail Online 29.10.10 (David Wilkes)
About eBay
- Founded in 1999, eBay.co.uk is the UK’s number 1 e-commerce site, providing a platform for over 17.7m unique visitors per month (Nielsen / Netratings, September 2009) to buy and sell new, unique and used items in a fun and easy way
- Far from an online auction house, eBay currently has 17 million live listings on the UK site, with fixed price goods accounting for the majority (56%) of items sold globally
- Sellers of all sizes, including 120,000 registered businesses and 20 high-street retailers use eBay.co.uk to reach the UK’s largest online shopping audience
- eBay supports buyers and sellers by promoting the best value deals through Daily Deals, and the eBay Outlet sells products from well known brands at up to 70% off the recommended retail price. Follow www.twitter.com/eBay_life4less for alerts to great deals on eBay and beyond
- eBay campaigns on the issues affecting buyers and sellers in a number of ways, including the eBay Online Business Index and consumer choice campaigns as featured on http://consumerchoice.eu/uk/
- eBay.co.uk is owned by eBay Inc, which has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, StubHub, Shopping.com, and others