eBay on Mobile

http://blogs.forbes.com/elizabethwoyke/2010/08/10/ebays-mobile-roadmap-ipad-windows-phone-7-apps-and-more/

- EBay was early to recognize the potential of mobile shopping, launching its first iPhone application in 2008.

- EBay’s mobile strategy is worth observing because the company is the largest mobile retailer in the U.S. and keeps growing. In 2009, eBay sold $600 million of goods (which it calls GMV for Gross Merchandise Volume) by mobile. This year, it expects to more than double that amount to $1.5 billion.
-working on brand-new apps. One, for the discount book and DVD store Half.com will debut in a few weeks. Another, dedicated to eBay-surfing car enthusiasts, is in development. Both apps are likely to be infused with barcode-reading technology that eBay acquired in June through a startup called RedLaser. In the Half.com app, the barcode reader (accessed through the phone’s camera) will let users compare prices. In the “motors” app, it could scan a car’s vehicle identification number (VIN) to help users identify compatible car parts on eBay.
-Since eBay aims to make these apps fun as well as functional, the car app could also include a virtual car housed in a virtual garage–a feature Yankovich likens to augmented reality. Eventually, the technology could power an app that would scan passersby and call up their clothes and accessories–or similar goods–on eBay, he says.
-Video is another option. Sellers’ listings could include video clips that showed the goods in use. “Enthusiasts want to be immersed in their product interests,” notes Yankovich. “We want to give them a reason to come back.”
-Apple, MS and Andriod
-Ultimately, we want people to experience eBay products in a way they never did before, even in a store,” he says. “That’s the only way we’ll get people who don’t buy things on their phones to try.”
- Yankovich says there are several possible reasons, including the app’s more inviting design, with larger, higher-quality images, and the fact that people tend to log onto their iPads at night, when they are likely to be more relaxed and willing to make purchases.