Despite a rocky start that saw eBay search outages early in the week, for eBay sellers, the news has generally been good this year. eBay sales and PayPal transactions over the past weekend were strong and in some cases record-setting, despite the general economic malaise. Here are some of the most interesting numbers from eBay’s press releases, public relations team, online tools, and other sources.
Quick Stats and Factoids
- Over one million items were sold on eBay on Black Friday, over 2.4 million on both days combined.
- PayPal’s data shows that 9:00 am and 10:00 am were the busiest online shopping hours this year on Black Friday.
- The busiest times for eBay searching on both days were 8:00 pm and 9:00 pm.
- Three of the five busiest eBay shopping communities in the U.S. on both days were in the south (Prarie Grove, Arkansas; Alpharetta, Georgia; Miami, Florida).
- Three of the five busiest eBay selling communities in the U.S. on both days were in California (El Monte; Aliso Viejo; Walnut). Brooklyn, New York also made the top five on both days.
- Growth in Total Payment Volume (TPV) was well into the double-digits on all three days—25 percent growth relative to last year on Thanksgiving Day and 20 percent on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
- Payment volume through PayPal was 50 percent higher on Black Friday than it was on Thanksgiving Day.
- Transaction activity as 35 percent higher on Cyber Monday than it was on Black Friday.
- eBay has been pushing its iPhone app, and it appears to have paid off. Mobile eBay use is exploding; Black Friday saw a 643 percent jump in mobile payments via PayPal over the same time period last year, Cyber Monday a 732 percent jump.
- By November 24th, the iPhone app had been downloaded over 5 million times since July of 2008.
- Some of the online boom this year is the result changing shopping habits. A National Retail Federation survey released last week predicted that some 96.5 million Americans would shop online on Cyber Monday, up from 85 million in 2008.
According to a number of analysts, the relative strength in online sales, with eBay and Amazon.com leading the charge, has been a small bright spot in a shopping season that has been seen in otherwise lukewarm terms.
Reading between the lines, some of the data (the timing of heaviest search activity and the tremendous rise in mobile shopping) indicate that consumers may increasingly be "window shopping" at retail outlets on Black Friday and Cyber Monday but making their actual purchases online or on eBay, either using a mobile app or after returning home early to avoid the evening rush.
Shoppers Going After Gadgets
According to eBay the most popular items at the start of the thanksgiving week included albums by Susan Boyle and Carrie Underwood, gaming consoles by Nintendo (Wii) and Microsoft (XBox 360) along with recent gaming releases such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2." Also hot according to eBay were DVD editions of classic childrens' animated features and merchandise associated with the "Twilight" series of books and films.A quick peek at eBay Pulse on the day following Cyber Monday shows that gadgets may once again be sought-after items during the holiday season. On Tuesday Apple’s iPod, iPod Touch, and iPhone held the top three spots on the list. Zhu Zhu Pets (small, fully robotic hamsters, for those behind the times), the Nintendo Wii console, laptop computers, digital cameras, and Microsoft’s XBox 360 all appeared in the top ten searches being carried out by eBay shoppers.
Holiday Charity Campaigns, Outstanding Offers
In keeping with the holiday spirit, PayPal has also launched its second annual Regift the Fruitcake campaign and website, at which shoppers can make a virtual fruitcake by donating to one of 25 charities, after which they can “regift” the cake on social networking site Facebook. Last year’s charity drive was a success in its inaugural year, drawing tends of thousands of participants from around the globe.Meanwhile, eBay’s Bill Me Later online shopping outlet is offering a holiday promotion called Outstanding Offer, which gives steep discounts to the most alert Bill Me Later shoppers every day starting at 1:00 pm ET. The Outstanding Offer promotion is set to run through December 31st.
