These days, whenever, someone speaks about eBay, everyone would think that it is about auctions. However, that image created a problem for the online marketplace.
People should know that eBay is now more than an auction site since the items that get sold over the site has some fixed priced. These items are far from the antiques and collectibles usually sold at an auction house.
Richelle Parham, eBay Inc.’s chief marketing officer, say there are a lot of people think of the eBay as an auction site, despite knowing the truth.
The company intends to be known as an e-commerce innovator, rather than a traditional auction site. Right now, eBay is focusing on a substantial ad campaign directed at consumers who shop on smartphones. Simultaneously, eBay hopes it is going to change consumers’ wrong opinion about the company.
This is the first massive marketing effort for the company in several years. It comes in the middle of a multi-year effort to perk up the buying and selling experience on eBay.com. It is the 16-year- old company’s first campaign that is going to aim at mobile shopping — a still-small, but quickly increasing the revenue source. eBay was one of the few that offer an iPhone app through Apple Inc.’s App Store when it started its operation in mid-2008, and in the last three years, eBay’s various smartphone and tablet apps have a total downloads of 50 million times.
Many people are apps not just for browsing anymore since they could use it for a lot of things. People now uses their smartphones even to buy new things. In 2010, the total amount of goods purchased from the site through the use of smartphones has reached $2 billion. This year, eBay expected that that figure will be twice as many, and mobile vice president Steve Yankovich says the company will unquestionably reach its $4 billion goal.
EBay now realizes that mobile apps would also mean new users, too. Between January and July, virtually 500,000 new eBay shoppers joined up and bought for the first time through their mobile phone.
Because of the reason stated above, eBay is highlighting the idea anyone could shop at the site anytime and anywhere and buy anything they want. The TV commercials and other ads eBay are going to start rolling out on Wednesday focused on three types of mobile-happy shoppers it recognized through market research: the fashionista, the electronics junkie and the auto parts and accessory fan, each one in different situations whenever they feel like shopping.