Mobile drives eBay growth
Ebay marked a 15 per cent year on year revenue jump in its third quarter as its mobile offering helped fuel a spike in users to the site.
Revenue for the three months to September rose to $3.4bn (£2.1bn), while profit increased 14 per cent year on year to $718m (£445m).
John Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive says mobile continues to be a “game changer” for the company, which considers itself a “clear leader” in mobile commerce and payments.
Ebay says its mobile app and mobile optimised site helped drive a 10 per cent increase in active users, compared with last year, to 108.3 million in the quarter.
Its core businesses, Marketplaces – eBay’s auction site – and PayPal, also accelerated both user and revenue growth, both delivering strong results in the quarter.
Revenue from “marketing services and other revenues”, which includes income from brands advertising on the site, was down 5 per cent on the previous quarter to $485m (£300m) but up 13 per cent year on year.
Earlier this month eBay unveiled a radical Pinterest-style site redesign and a strategy to offer brands more of its consumer insights as it looks to boost advertising revenue from brands looking to “inspire” shoppers.
Ebay’s outlook for the Christmas shopping season, however, is cautious – in spite of the new site’s roll out falling in the fourth quarter. Bob Swan, eBay’s chief financial officer, told analysts the company expects an “OK” holiday season, as it continues to experience the consequences of macro-economic pressure from Europe and faces the threat of major retailers discounting their prices to match rival Amazon.
Analysts have also said the new redesign could be at odds with some of its users, who have been used to its current layout for some years.
