Image: iStock/Tevarak

Despite the pandemic and overall rough economy in 2020, 54% of eBay businesses grew, particularly those that utilized technology to optimize sales, according to a survey by the e-commerce company.

For example, one tool eBay businesses use is Terapeak, a data-driven tool that helps sellers find out what to sell, when to sell, where to sell and at what price, by analyzing up to a year of eBay data, according to Harry Temkin, vice president, head of seller experience at eBay.

“It wasn’t surprising to see that our sellers who are using data to inform their business decisions are seeing a greater return,” Temkin said. The impetus for the survey was to better understand sellers’ attitudes toward eBay tools and technology and the impact tools have on sellers’ ability to grow their business, he said.

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The survey also found that 32% of sellers who use Terapeak “very often grew their business significantly, compared to 23% of sellers who never use Terapeak,” Temkin said. Further, eBay’s Offers to Buyers (also known as Seller Initiated Offers) tool made the biggest impact on sellers’ businesses, he said.

“This popular tool lets sellers send offers to potential buyers with an exclusive discount. With Offers to Buyers, the seller can go into the Seller Hub (Active Listings) to the specific listing and see the potential buyers that have shown interest,” Temkin said. “From there, the seller can send an exclusive offer with a personalized message directly to potential buyers that are watching the listing or have that item in the cart.”

That message reaches the 25 most recent people who expressed an interest in the item, ensuring that the offer is always relevant, he said.

Tools are aimed at helping accelerate growth

Other tools sellers used include Promoted Listings, which allows sellers to boost the visibility of their listings, and Time Away, which allows them to update their listings and protect their on-time delivery record while they are away from selling, according to Temkin.

eBay continues to create tools aimed at addressing sellers’ needs and help them accelerate their growth, he said.

As sellers look to 2021 and beyond, the tools are providing guidance on the areas of their business that are most crucial to their success, Temkin said.

The survey found that these tools and technologies are most helpful for businesses of all sizes:

Recent pricing features–Sellers can leverage the Competitive Insights Module, which provides research and pricing guidance from Terapeak directly in the listing flow and from active listings in Seller Hub.

Recent shipping features–Last fall, eBay launched a new QR code feature aimed at helping sellers save time and money. The new QR code offering means sellers will no longer need to print their eBay shipping labels at home. They can now download the QR code on their phone and visit the nearest participating post office or shipping retailer, where they can scan the QR code and print the shipping label on the seller’s behalf.

Optimizing listing features–Terapeak is designed to provide sellers with essential eBay marketplace intelligence to improve their business. Terapeak is designed to help sellers optimize their business performance using data (based on millions of eBay transactions) to inform decisions and scope out the competition.

Customer experience features–Stores drive repeat purchases, the company said. Buyers who visit a store during their initial shopping journey have a repeat purchase rate that is 20% to 65% higher than buyers who do not visit Stores, eBay said. The 20-65% range is based on what vertical they are buying in.

eBay also launched new Coded Coupons that will allow sellers to offer discounts either publicly on eBay.com or privately to a particular buyer or group of buyers through their own marketing channels.

“Supporting small businesses and creating economic opportunity for all is core to eBay’s mission,” Temkin said. “During one of the toughest years for small businesses across the globe, eBay has shown up as a true partner to sellers and remained committed to improving the seller experience by enabling them with the tools they need to grow their businesses.”