Hello Sellers,
Here we are – can you believe it's December? Cyber Week is behind us, and while that week is always hyped as the zenith of holiday shopping, between now and mid-month is truly where we see the (retail) 'rubber meet the road.' This crucial window is when sellers like you fuel the season’s spirit with one-of-a-kind, meaningful items for shoppers and gift-givers. And while I hope you saw a successful Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday – know that there’s still plenty of browsing and buying in the weeks to come.
In Part I of this holiday series, I touched on consumer sentiment and how we’re driving attention to your listings. In Part II, I’ll share some shipping, listing, and selling cues to keep in mind as shopping picks up steam. I encourage you all to check out our 'How to Attract Last-Minute Shoppers' blog. Finally, we'll round out this post with our annual ‘What’s Hot’ list of trends shaping purchases this holiday season.
Smart tips for shipping
This year, more than 75% of shoppers plan to purchase items online – many started as early as October and will keep shopping right up to the end of the holidays. During this busiest of times, our goal is to help you ship efficiently and on schedule – always elements of a good ecommerce experience, but especially important as demand spikes and carriers feel the pressure.
If you haven’t already, do visit this year’s Holiday Shipping Guide, a one-stop shop for key dates, links and questions on everything from consumer trends and packaging options, to seller protections and shipping calculators. You can also access carrier deadlines and holiday shipping fees at eBay’s Seller Center.
Listing re-imagined with AI
No respectable 2023 holiday ecommerce blog would be complete without mention of AI (artificial intelligence) – which some say is starting a new era of online shopping experiences. Here at eBay, we were early adopters of AI, and today it touches nearly everything on the platform and marketplace, including our 28+ years of inventory and sales data. This said, I wanted to share two key ways this tech is helping you get more items online faster, easier, and with style:
This season we’re giving you the gift of time…or, at least less time spent cleaning images for professional looking listings. By now I imagine you’ve likely tested our vastly improved image background removal tool, powered by AI, which automatically composes simpler, cleaner, more consistent images.
To speed your listings even more, I encourage experimenting with our new generative AI-powered listing tool that – based simply on a product name and model – suggests initial copy for you to edit. The idea is to remove those “cold start” roadblocks by reducing the time you spend drafting descriptions from scratch, and even enhancing clarity and voice to resonate with your shoppers.
Your business ambitions and needs drive us all year round, but we appreciate how crucial this particular season is to many of you. That’s why I’m excited for these holiday-ready, AI-based tools to support your last-minute sales efforts when you need them most.
Finally, the big ‘What’s Hot’ reveal.
Every year, I look forward to the days leading up to Black Friday and through the New Year, ensuring that promotions are running, the marketplace is humming, and that your sales are our top priority. This year is no different, though this season’s landscape – given inflation and economic uncertainty – seems especially nuanced. But that doesn’t mean consumers aren’t shopping. Based on retail news reports across the US, people are buying – so we’re doing all we can to help you showcase the unique inventory, the incredible value, and the highly personal and memorable gifts you bring to the holiday table.
So, in keeping with eBay tradition, here is our annual holiday look-book, inspired by the top cultural trends we’ve been following all year. We’ve taken a fine-tooth comb to our 2023 archives and compiled a catalog representing the unique, stylish, desirable and even practical items on wish lists this season, bridging every passion and pursuit from Sports Superfans to Marvel-Mania. Check out the slideshow below – maybe it will spark your own ideas for a few new listings and giftings!
There’s still much more cheer (and shopping) ahead, but in the meantime I hope this official start to the holidays is full of loved ones, joy, and lots of presents. Enjoy, and as always, thank you for selling on eBay!
Adam Ireland
VP and GM, eBay US
