This is an advertorial blog post.
eBay Inc, the global business that owns a range of online companies including PayPal, X Commerce and GSI commerce amongst others has announced that it has more than doubled its income in the second quarter of 2012. Revenues grew by 23% in the second quarter, up to $3.39 billion, much higher than market analysts predicted.
The strongest performing area was the e-commerce element of eBay’s website and PayPal, the company’s online payment business. The growth of mobile internet and increasing consumer familiarity with the platform is thought to be the chief reason for eBay’s boosted revenues. Since the mobile app was launched in 2008, it has been downloaded 90 million times globally. John Donahoe, eBay’s Chief Executive explained that the app’s popularity is due to its convenience in allowing consumers to make quick purchasing decisions:
“A woman’s handbag is purchased on eBay mobile every 30 seconds,” said John Donahoe, “Mobile is becoming the digital nexus of consumers’ lives. They want what they want when they want it.”
eBay also released data claiming that a massive 600,000 new customers had made a purchase via the mobile app in Q2 2012 alone and sellers list 1.9 million items each week via a mobile device. If these strong results continue for the rest of the year, eBay will have doubled its sales via the mobile app in a mere 12 months.
Due to this increase in sales, it will come as no surprise that PayPal has experienced a significant rise in users. It now has 113.2 million active PayPal accounts, with a 13% increase over the second quarter of 2011. An eBay spokesperson stated:
“Simply put, more people are paying with PayPal, and more merchants are integrating PayPal payments both online and offline.”
Other pioneering efforts include the launch of the new mobile phone payment method for merchants called ‘PayPal Here’. eBay is keen to push the product into markets all around the world and a number of major brands have already begun to utilise it. Abercrombie and Fitch have already implemented the phone technology at 900 of its stores. Due to this explosion of interest in alternate payment methods, eBay have started a recruitment drive for 200 new web design jobs to make mobile integration as smooth as possible.
eBay’s healthy growth shows little sign of slowing down. The company is dedicated to the continued development of innovative products such as ‘PayPal Here’. Another tangible sign of the company’s rising fortunes is the number of new positions that eBay is currently recruiting for. The majority of these vacancies are for IT jobs but the company is also looking for HR and finance professionals to support the corporate centre as it grows.
Not wanting to rest on its laurels, eBay has also demonstrated its desire to move into new areas of commerce and be considered a serious fashion retailer after it became the sponsor for Britain Fashion Council’s Forward Initiative.
