Online shopping is growing at a phenomenal rate as the internet becomes more widely accessible and consumers flock to the ease and comfort of shopping from their own home and awaiting hand-delivered products to their front door. Studies show that by 2040, 95% of all purchases will be completed online. That’s a bold statement and one that will impact the way sellers and consumers do business virtually.
So, why is now a better time than ever to join eBay?
eBay was founded in 1995 at the start of the dot-com bubble. Today, it is ranked as one of the most popular e-commerce and shopping websites worldwide based on site visits. See why eBay is the place to be when selling online.
Check out these eye-watering eBay statistics every online seller should bear in mind.
- eBay has more than 109 million visitors every month and a whopping 185 million active buyers.
- Nearly 62% of eBay users are male, and 38% are female.
- 35–64 year-olds make up 61% of eBay’s audience.
- There are over 19 million sellers vying for the attention of buyers on eBay.
- 28.2% of sellers are found in the United States and just below that the United Kingdom at 28%. 16.5% are found in Germany, 13.2% in China, 4.2% in Australia and 9.8% spread out among other countries.
- There is an average of 268 listings per seller. With over 19 million sellers, that’s a lot of listings!
- Speaking of listings, eBay has more than 1.5 billion active listings.
- There is a staggering 15,000 categories to choose from! And some are pretty bizarre (keep reading)!
- 16.4% of products sold on eBay are in the “Electronics & Accessories” category.
- 80% of all goods sold on eBay are new
- The top 5 selling categories are Automotive, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Jewelry & Watches, Home & Garden, Health & Beauty
- 55% of all eBay searches are filtered searches – which is why filling in all of your product’s item specifics is so important when listing.
- eBay is available in over 180 countries – that’s 93% of the world!
- eBay was originally called AuctionWeb. The name was changed in September 1997, after the founder’s consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group. The name was shortened to eBay.com since echobay.com was already taken.
- The very first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for a reasonable price of $14.83.
- The most expensive item ever purchased on eBay was the Giga Yacht for $168,000,000.
- eBay has a whole section dedicated to the weird and unusual. Yep, that’s right. “Weird stuff” is an official category under collectables. You can venture even further into “Rather Strange,” “Really Weird,” “Unusual,” “Not that Odd,” “Slightly Unusual” and “Totally Bizarre.” Grab a cuppa and enjoy the rabbit hole.
From its humble beginnings to a multinational, multibillion dollar company, eBay has no plans of stopping now. It’s one of the top e-commerce sites for a reason, connecting millions of buyers and sellers globally and providing economic growth for businesses, no matter your size, shape or industry.
If you’re looking to open your own eBay store but not sure where to start, check out this guide to the Journey of an eBay Seller.
Sources:
- Fundera
- Oberlo
- Time
- eDesk
- Expanded Ramblings
- eBay
- Optiseller YouTube
- Statista
- Wikipedia
- Kinsta
- Small Biz Trends
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