BWild |
November 29, 2012
eBay reports mobile sales performance
eBay has experienced a very promising beginning to the holiday shopping season this year. The online retail giant has released data concerning mobile sales that were made over the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend. This data comes from eBay itself, as well as its Marketplaces, PayPal, and GSI Commerce divisions. The company will not be providing overall sales information this year, but its mobile sales have been made publicly available, showing a strong performance for the company’s various mobile commerce initiatives.
Mobile sales up across the board
According to eBay, the company saw a 133% increase in mobile transactions in the U.S. on Thanksgiving day from what they had been in 2011. The company also saw a 153% increase in mobile volume on Black Friday over the levels it had been last year. PayPal experienced a 173% increase in global mobile payment volume on Thanksgiving day and a 193^ increase in global mobile payment volume on Black Friday. GSI Commerce experienced similar results.
Positive performance largely due to focus on mobile consumers
eBay notes that much of the success it has seen in the mobile commerce realm comes from the company’s increased focus on mobile consumers. eBay has been positioning itself to engage these consumers in an aggressive way, well before the holiday season even began. The company predicts that mobile commerce and similar services will shape this year’s holiday shopping season and any companies not focused on appealing to mobile consumers could miss out on an ideal opportunity.
Mobile commerce becoming more popular in wake of holiday shopping
There is still a lot of time left in the 2012 holiday season and eBay expects to continue seeing positive results from its mobile commerce initiatives. Other retailers have been reporting similar results from their own focus on mobile commerce. The performance of these ventures is expected to boost the popularity of mobile commerce within the retail industry, encouraging more companies to adopt platforms that allow consumers to pay for products with their mobile devices.
E-commerce business losing traction with investors
Black Friday has passed and that has left many retailers preparing for the remainder of the holiday season. While Christmas still looms, Black Friday was the most important day for the retail industry. Now that that day has passed, retailers can enjoy some mild relief before gearing up to engage consumers again in December. Mobile commerce helped make this year’s Black Friday a major success, and the growing popularity surrounding the concept has lead to many start-up e-commerce businesses being formed. Investors have seen the potential of these start-ups and some are suggesting that they are overvalued.
Mobile commerce continues to spark new businesses
Over the past 18 months, mobile commerce has sparked the founding of several e-commerce platforms that had promised to provide innovative service to consumers and niche markets. Many of these platforms received a proverbial tidal wave of investments that helped them reach their target audience. Unfortunately, most of these platforms failed to meet the expectations of investors, thus yielding modest returns at best. The lackluster performance of some platforms has not stopped the formation of new e-commerce businesses, however. Finding investments may soon become difficult for these start-ups.
Failed e-commerce ventures create unease among investors
Though the e-commerce sector shows promising growth, investors have seen a string of failed online retail ventures from groups like Facebook, Zynga, and Groupon. Smaller companies that promised major returns were unable to deliver, thus making many investors leery of e-commerce ventures and those that revolve around mobile commerce. Former eBay executive Dana Stalder, who is now a partner at Matrix Partners, an investment firm focused on software and communications companies, suggests that there is “inflated valuations” concerning e-commerce ventures.
Capital-intensive business may find lack of support
Stalder notes that most e-commerce businesses are complex and require significant capital to operate. Inventory and shipping costs make it difficult for new businesses to reach a large audience. Even with financial backing, these businesses can easily spend more than they make, thus making them less lucrative for investors. Many of these companies have created an uneasy investment climate for the online retail industry, which could make it exceedingly difficult for new e-commerce start-ups to find the backing that they need.
