eBay Mobile Sales Hit $2bn

eBay’s mobile sales tripled to reach almost $2bn (£1.3bn) in 2010, up from just $600m in 2009, the company has revealed. eBay’s apps have been downloaded more than 30m times in eight languages across more than 190 countries. Users of Apple’s iPhone continue to lead the way in mobile shopping on eBay. Since its initial release in 2008, more than 15m people have downloaded eBay’s iPhone app, which is consistently ranked among the top three most popular apps in the iPhone lifestyle category.

The UK has been the fastest adopter of m-commerce , with more Brits shopping through the eBay app than anywhere else in Europe. In fact, eBay has seen an item bought, on average, every two seconds through the eBay buyer app in the UK. Globally, 94 bids are made, and 13 pieces of clothing, pairs of shoes and accessories are sold every minute using eBay’s mobile apps.

Germany and the UK combined generated almost one-third of all eBay’s mobile sales in 2010. Alongside Australia, the UK is the fastest growing international mobile market.
The most popular items bought via mobile devices in the UK include fashion, consumer electronics and technical goods, sporting equipment, PC and videogames, home & garden products, and collectibles.
Earlier this year, eBay acquired RedLaser, for its barcode-scanning app which lets users scan and upload product information and compare prices. Downloads of eBay’s RedLaser iPhone app now stand at 7m, up 3000 per cent since the acquisition completed in June.

“It’s staggering to think that $2bn worth of sales has been generated through a platform that didn’t exist a couple of years ago, and on a device that didn’t exist three years ago,” says Clare Gilmartin, Vice-President of eBay Europe. “We’re defining the mobile commerce landscape by offering convenience for consumers. We’ve made it easier for people to shop when they want, how they want and where they want. With the number of mobile internet users growing rapidly, the potential for growth is huge.”