eBay seeks to personalise online shopping with new website

• New site design offers a more personalised and curated experience
• eBay optimistic about growth opportunities in Malaysia’s e-commerce market

ONLINE marketplace eBay has launched a refreshed version of its Malaysian site, touting a more personalised shopping experience for its users.
 
The new look and feel, which goes live today (May 30), follows the redesign of the US-based website, which was rolled out gradually last October.
 
Jason Lee (pic), regional director, South-East Asia and Middle East, called the new site with its slate of features and enhancements “the future of commerce," adding that the company is committed to being at the forefront of the rapid change taking place in the global retail market.
 
“In the next few years, the US$10-trillion global retail market will be transformed in terms of speed, access and overall experience -- eBay will be at the forefront of this change, with tremendous growth taking place in South-East Asia,” he said.
 
Globally, eBay currently boasts 116 million active users doing nearly 260 million daily searches with 25 million sellers and 400 million listings.
 
From its roots as an online auction site, eBay has since evolved into a full-fledged shopping platform with 70% of items listed being new. Approximately 60% of total revenue comes from outside the United States, while 20% of merchandise volume comes from cross-border transactions, the company said.
 
Mobile shopping has also come to the forefront, with eBay’s first app being launched in July, 2008, surpassing the 100 million-download mark in September 2012.
 
Lee said that one million new customer accounts came to eBay via mobile in the first half of 2012. Only payment via eBay subsidiary PayPal is currently offered, with the addition of other payment options subject to customer feedback and demand.
 
He was unable to share the breakdown of eBay’s current user base in the region or the company’s investment toward its aggressive mission to stand out in an increasingly crowded e-commerce landscape.
 
However he noted that user base growth was positive and the investment was “significant,” as eBay only commits to markets it has full confidence in, for growth opportunities.
 
“We have an ambitious goal to redefine online shopping but the timing has never been more perfect. eBay has been observing the evolving of the space throughout the years and the time is ripe for a totally different approach,” he said.

Next page: New look, new features