I’m working out of the eBay UK office in Richmond this week and have had some great meetings with a number of folks talking about all things social – from commerce to media to business. I’ve also been able to check out some cool stories coming out of the office here first-hand. Earlier this month, eBay UK launched its first-ever pop-up shop in London’s fashionable West End. The UK’s first-ever QR code shopping emporium, the eBay Christmas Boutique enabled shoppers to browse over 350 items provided by top-rated eBay sellers, who could purchase using mobile technology with just a few clicks.

Although there were physical items on display, all items were purchased on eBay using mobile devices. Naturally, I asked what was going to happen to all of the gifts on display throughout the shop. Turns out that many of the toys and gifts displayed in the Boutique have been donated to children’s charities.

The boutique was open Dec. 1 – 5 and although it meant it was only open for 5 days, they managed to attract over 2,500 walk-in customers. You can check out a full behind-the-scenes video below…

Cheers from the UK!
-RBH

Related Reads:
TameBay – Shopping at the eBay Christmas Boutique
techradar.com – In Pictures: eBay Christmas Boutique

X.commerce’s Matthew Mengerink Looks at Four Trends Commerce Trends
In a GigaOm guest post by X.commerce‘s Matthew Mengerink, he writes that mobile, local, social and digital are the four mega trends shaping the future of commerce. Merchants of all types—from brick-and-mortar retail outlets to non-profits, to manufacturers and even those selling online, need to ensure they’re ahead of the commerce curve. [via GigaOm]

Further News
+ Is social e-commerce in Facebook’s future? Mark Zuckerberg explained at the f8 conference this week.
+ Simple steps to building a strong mobile commerce foundation and generate success for your brand.
+ Is advertising on social media good for small business?
+ Retailers are looking for job candidates with e-commerce skills.

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 22, 2010: eBay introduces the eBay tech blog – @ebaytechblog. The eBay Tech Blog was launched earlier this week and I for one am very excited at the possibilities. Partner this with our eBay Developer Blog and I think we’ve got some pretty cool information on cutting edge innovation coming out of our company.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

eBay Acquires The Gifts Project
This week eBay acquired the technology and team behind The Gifts Project, a social commerce platform that enables multiple friends to pitch in towards an item for a birthday or other event. In January this year, The Gifts Project signed a cooperation agreement with eBay, under which eBay offered group gift buying through the company’s technology. The Gifts Project will report to eBay’s new VP of social commerce, Don Bradford, who joined eBay in May after working at both Microsoft and Yahoo. [via All Things D]

Further News
+ Charity stores are increasing their use of the internet to sell second hand goods
+ Mobile users in the UK now see m-commerce less as an experiment and more as a convenient way to shop
+ 45% of adults in the UK prefer to shop for fashion items online, rather than in-store

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 14, 2010: eBay CEO, John Donahoe, joined Michel Gelobter, the founder of Cooler and Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, on a panel discussion at the National Press Club earlier today. The topic of discussion? A report released by Michel Gelobter of carbon-footprint consulting firm, Cooler. Commissioned by eBay, the report highlights the environmental value of enabling consumer-to-consumer online selling and supporting online entrepreneurs and small businesses to compete globally against larger retailers. It’s pretty incredible when one breaks down the numbers. For example, compared to a single big box retail store grossing $100 million per year, new data reveals that the day-to-day operations of $100 million in sales through small, Web-based businesses generate approximately 1,400 tons fewer CO2-equivalent emissions per year than their offline counterparts: that’s the same amount of energy it takes to power 108 homes for a year.

You can download a full PDF of the Cooler Research – 2010: The Small Business Advantage.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

Further News
+ iPad has driven more revenues for retail clients than smartphones.
+ Chinese commuters use m-commerce and QR codes while waiting for subway.
+ How effective is ‘Facebook shopping’ for small businesses?

Looking Back on eBay Ink
September 1, 2010: Internal video celebrating 15 years of eBay #eBay15 #eBayOL. eBay: On Location kicks off today, in conjunction with our celebration of 15 years of eBay. I managed to get my hands on a celebratory video we’ll be showing at eBayOL – San Jose tonight and to our employees around the world.

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

PayPal Exec Comments on Competition
In an interview with CNET, PayPal’s Sam Shrauger, vice president of global product and design, commented that services seeking to mimic or compete with PayPal, will face a slew of challenges, “Being in the payments business is harder than saying you’re in the payments business.” As most of the industry is focusing on a technology called near-field communications, PayPal PayPal isn’t going to mandate the use of any specific technology. [via CNET]

Further News
+ A new study finds, social media can be as addictive as drugs
+ Econsultancy.com rounds up ten new e-commerce infographics
+ Over half of tablet owners say that they use it for shopping

Looking Back on eBay Ink
August 3, 2010: eBay Announces First-Ever Free Rewards Program with eBay Bucks. The program is free and open to all US eBay users. In a nutshell, eBay Bucks offers consumers 2% back on most items purchased through the eBay Marketplace with PayPal. I sat down with Marc Steffens, Sr. Manager of eBay Bucks Rewards Program, to discuss the launch and what it means for buyers and sellers. (You can also read more in his eBay Announcement Board post).

eBay Ink Weekend Roundup is a summary of news and updates around eBay, PayPal, Social Media, Technology and E-commerce. Let us know what interests you.

As illustrated in the infographic, iPad 2 activity on the eBay marketplace is booming. Interestingly, some of the strongest demand is coming from outside the U.S. in countries like Russia, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan – many of which Apple either just began selling the iPad 2 in on Friday or plans to in April.

A few highlights depicted in the infographic:

- 65% of total iPad 2’s sold on eBay went to domestic buyers vs only 35% of sales of iPad 1 in 2010 (within similar two-week date range).
- Pad 2 models in most demand are the 16GB and 64GB + 3G, with 30% and 23% of sales respectively.
- Sales of iPads on eBay jumped from 5,300 in the first two weeks after iPad 1 was announced, to nearly 12,000 in the first two weeks after iPad 2.
- The two biggest export locations are Russia and Canada, followed by Hong Kong, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Source for all data: http://products.ebay.com/ipad

Bringing local commerce one step closer to shoppers, eBay announced today that it will be offering consumers local inventory powered by Milo. Shoppers will now be able to use the new local shopping tab to check a product’s local, or in-store availability. Additionally, product pages for MP3 players and GPS devices now include a local shopping tab allowing shoppers to find they product they want, whether its online or offline at a local retailer.

From the press release:

“In the new retail environment, eBay is uniquely positioned to help retailers, large and small, compete globally in new ways and to help consumers shop for whatever they want – anytime, anywhere.,” said Dane Glasgow, vice president, global product management, eBay. “Our customers tell us they want eBay to make it even easier and more convenient to find great deals, whether they’re shopping online or around the corner. We are enabling a new kind of commerce, connecting eBay shoppers to local merchants.”

By bringing local inventory into the core search experience on eBay.com, shoppers who opt-in through the Garden will now see local shopping results on a new tab alongside the traditional search results on eBay.com

To connect small retailers and local shoppers, eBay is also introducing pluginfrom Milo that will help small to mid-size retailers easily integrate their offline merchandise onto Milo and eBay. Beginning with retailers who use QuickBooks, this software will allow independent retailers to upload their local inventory through a one-time, three-step installation and automatically share the real-time availability of their products with millions of shoppers nationwide, whether on eBay.com, eBay’s RedLaser mobile barcode-scanning application, or Milo’s affiliate partner sites. Retailers can sign up for the program here: http://www.milo.com/retailer-signup

Additional information about the new features is available at: http://www.ebay.com/local

eBay mobile gross merchandise volume is expected to double to $4 billion in 2011.

Cheers,
RBH

Available specifically for the homestretch of holiday gifting, GiftsNearby shows shoppers a selection of popular holiday gift options ranging from electronics and other gadgets to home appliances and toys that are available at local retailers in or near their zip code. Only items that are in stock at a selection of more than 25 trusted retailers are offered as gift options, ensuring last-minute Santas can fly out to pick up exactly what they want and know it will be there… For Santas who have run out of time to comparison-shop, GiftsNearby shows local retail prices for each item, directions to the closest store with inventory availability, and an option to browse eBay for the gift.

Related Reads:
Thanks To Milo, eBay Goes Local With Product Inventory Tool GiftsNearby
For eBay, Milo represents a way to break into the local shopping market. Forrester estimates that online research to offline buying is a $917 billion market that will eventually reach $1.3 trillion and account for nearly 50% of total retail sales by 2013. [TechCrunch]

eBay Sends Shoppers to Offline Stores
This is not the first time eBay has funneled shoppers on its marketplace to other retailers. In the past, it experimented with mixing results from its comparison shopping engine, Shopping.com, with eBay.com’s search listings for certain products… [NY Times Bits]

Having said that, I’m sure I could have enjoyed even better deals if I’d found the following blog post a couple of weeks ago. Tara Snyder of OnlineTraining.org has a thorough and detailed blog post devoted to Holiday shopping online.

No matter what your budget is, shopping online for holiday gifts cuts down on the time spent in your car and adds to the time spent with family and loved ones. Stay organized and online shopping will become your prime way of acquiring everything you need for your home and family.

Check out her 40 Tips for Doing All of Your Holiday Shopping Online.

Thanks Tara!

Cheers,
RBH