More Consumers Shop Mobile This Holiday

Holiday shopping went mobile this season, with eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) seeing a surge in buyers tapping their eBay iPhone app and other eBay mobile applications to find a great deal while on the go. The number of items bought via eBay mobile apps this year was triple last year’s holiday volume. In 2009, eBay buyers and sellers are generating more than half a billion dollars of transactions via mobile, with strong momentum this holiday season. Nearly 6 million people have eBay on their iPhone and shoppers are making 750,000 unique visits a day to eBay via mobile apps. Mobile purchases this season range from designer handbags to a $75,000 1966 Chevrolet Corvette.

"Mobile is changing the way people shop this holiday season," said Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay marketplaces. "With eBay on your iPhone, great deals are available anytime, anywhere. We see consumers taking advantage of that freedom to find great holiday gifts and deals without sitting at their computer or being stuck at the mall. eBay buyers and sellers have rapidly embraced mobile commerce this year, and this holiday season has been a mobile commerce tipping point. Shopping will never be the same again."

Dawn of mCommerce Era: OMG I just bought a boat on my iPhone LOL

According to an IDC report earlier this year, mobile Internet users will double in number by 2013 to surpass one billion. Here are some mobile eBay trends:

• Nearly six million people are carrying eBay around in their pocket
• Users from more than 165 countries visited the eBay mobile Web site and iPhone application
• 1.5 million items were bought on eBay using mobile phones worldwide this holiday

In 2009, an item sold every 2 seconds via eBay mobile applications worldwide with luxury items a favorite of shoppers this holiday season; some recent mobile transactions in the US include:

• $19,108 for a 23-foot deck boat
• $10,025 for 250 grams of pure gold bullion
• $10,000 for a Boston grand piano made by Steinway
• $3,888 for a Hermes Kelly bag
• $770 for a Jean Paul Gaultier wool and leather coat
• $600 for a pair of Christian Louboutin camel colored patent leather pumps

In the U.S., the early adopters in mobile commerce are the Texans:

• Four of the top 10 U.S. ZIP codes for number of people buying via their mobile phones are from Texas, including Burleson, TX 76028; El Paso, TX 79936; Frisco, TX 75034 and McKinney, TX 75070, followed closely by Florida, New York and California.
• Top 10 ZIP codes ranked by gross merchandise bought:

eBay connects buyers and sellers across the globe:

• This holiday, more than 20 million items were purchased by eBay shoppers from sellers in another country
• Shoppers in more than 200 countries bought items on eBay this holiday season
• Sunday, December 13, was the biggest shopping day of the year with more than 2.3M transactions in the U.S.

eBay Daily Deals on eBay.com were flying off the shelves:

• The DVD for the movie "UP” was $6.99 (77 percent savings off MSRP) with free shipping – sold out (2,000 units) in 16 minutes
• Toshiba 32-inch LCD TV was $279 (49 percent savings off MSRP) with free shipping – sold out (nearly 2,000 units) in 26 minutes
• The Vibecellular 2-pack of LED Headlamps for $9.99 (75 percent savings off of MSRP) sold through 10,000 items in just under 11 hours
• The first four Daily Deals on Dec. 7 sold out in 90 minutes

Under the tree this holiday:

• More than half a million Zhu Zhu pets scampered into homes across the U.S. in 2009; in the first two weeks of December alone, there were more than 5 million Zhu Zhu Pet and related item searches on eBay
  • To watch how Zhu Zhus took over the U.S., visit: http://www.ebayholiday.com/zhu-zhu
• Most expensive item to find a new home this holiday was a $495,000 1965 Shelby Cobra; followed by a 2010 Lamborghini Roadster which sold for $390,000
• Disney rules the DVD market, with "The Lion King,” "Cinderella,” "Beauty and the Beast” and the new "UP” movies leading sales
• Christmas morning is all about the video game systems, with the Nintendo Wii as the most popular item this holiday season and Xbox 360 a close second
• More people playing "Call of Duty” than any other video game

Launched in 2007 and 2008 respectively, the eBay web application (WAP) site and iPhone application extend the eBay experience to the mobile phone. The iPhone app is available in eight languages and is downloadable in 77 countries; it is the third most popular app in the iPhone Lifestyle category. In 2009, eBay integrated PayPal into the eBay mobile Web site and iPhone application, delivering an end-to-end mobile shopping experience for people shopping for anything from luxury cars to cell phone accessories. Today, every two seconds an item is purchased using eBay mobile.

About eBay Inc.

Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) connects millions of buyers and sellers globally on a daily basis through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, and PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments. We also reach millions through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay Classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. For more information about the company and our global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.