It seems only fitting that what should prove to be my final blog post of the year (I’m literally walking out the door right now to surprise my kids with a trip to Disneyland), is focused on eBay mobile. It has been a hot topic on the blog for some time now and, based on feedback I’ve been getting from eBay Ink Social Media Sellers, it will be even hotter in 2011. I plan on sharing a 2011 predictions post with you all, based on that feedback, early next week. In the meantime, I wanted to share some of the insights revealed by eBay earlier this morning specific to mobile shopping trends of the past year.

Have a very safe and happy New Year!! Back with you all next week.

Cheers!
RBH

In the U.S., the top five categories ranked by the number of items sold through eBay’s mobile apps for the year were: clothing shoes & accessories; cell phones & PDAs; collectibles; jewelry & watches; and toys & hobbies.

I’ve written about eBay’s interactive infographic application already and have been impressed with how it allows folks to see eBay mobile shopping trends for the year within the top 20 eBay product categories. Looking back, eBay’s infographic reveals the following trends:

High-End Holiday Spending: Designer handbags, diamond rings and Rolex watches topped this year’s most expensive holiday purchases. During the holiday shopping season (Nov. 25 – Dec. 25), U.S. mobile sales 134 percent over the same period last year, generating nearly $100 million in GMV; worldwide, mobile sales grew 166 percent generating $230 million in GMV.

Sports Shopping Spree: Major sporting events drove fans to shop on eBay mobile to commemorate some of the most highly coveted competitions. Based on mobile sales, the sports memorabilia category peaked in Canada, during February’s XXI Olympic Winter Games held in Vancouver, B.C. The category also peaked in Germany during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ South Africa, where Germany placed third, in June and July, and in France during July’s Tour de France®.

Gaming Lovers: Valentine’s Day has become a boon for the video game industry as World of Warcraft® and Final Fantasy® hosted special online gaming events. Video game sales through eBay’s mobile apps spiked 68% week-over-week for the week ending on Feb. 14.

Must-have Gadgets: In the U.S., tech lovers flocked to eBay as the iPad made its debut on April 4, driving the consumer electronics category to its annual peak the day after Apple’s tablet device first arrived in retail stores. On June 24, the day the iPhone® 4 launched in the U.S., the cell phones & accessories category hit its annual peak as a flurry of new and pre-owned iPhones listed on eBay.

Fashion Fanatics: As eBay released its Fashion app for iPhone this summer, clothing & accessories was a consistently popular category on mobile. In Canada and France, clothing & accessories was a top category overall based on mobile sales; it was a top three category in Australia, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. During the busy shopping period between Black Friday (Nov. 29) and Mobile Sunday (Dec. 12), the category ranked number one in the U.S., in both GMV and sold items.