· eBay Mobile announced that the amount shoppers in the U.S. spent via eBay Mobile more than doubled this Thanksgiving over last year

· PayPal Mobile announced a six-fold (511%) increase in global mobile payment volume when compared to Thanksgiving 2010

· GSI Commerce announced a more than four-fold (345%) increase in U.S. mobile sales this Thanksgiving compared to 2010

“Across eBay, PayPal and our GSI retail customers, we saw mobile shopping surge on Thanksgiving evening as people showed a clear preference to shop on their own terms from anywhere at any time,” said Steve Yankovich, vice president, Mobile, for eBay Inc. “Mobile is one of the many ways that eBay Inc. is enabling a new retail, changing the ways consumers shop and pay, and finding the gifts and goods they want at the right price.”

Mobile shopping highlights from eBay Inc. include:
Thanksgiving (Nov. 24, 2011, 12:01 a.m. – 11:59 p.m.)

eBay Mobile (U.S.):
· The busiest eBay Mobile shopping hour on Thanksgiving was between 6 and 7 p.m. PST
· Shoppers in the U.S. purchased more than twice the amount of items via eBay on mobile devices this Thanksgiving compared to last year
· The amount shoppers in the U.S. spent via eBay Mobile more than doubled this Thanksgiving compared to last year

The five most popular categories shopped via eBay Mobile, excluding vehicles (by GMV), were:
1. Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
2. Computers & Networking
3. Sporting Goods
4. Jewelry & Watches
5. Cell Phones & PDAs

The five most popular categories shopped via eBay Mobile, excluding vehicles (by number of sold items) were:
1. Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
2. Cell Phones & PDAs
3. Jewelry & Watches
4. Collectibles
5. Toys & Hobbies

The top items purchased via eBay Mobile in specific categories were:

Fashion:
1. Toms Classic Shoes
2. UGG Australia Classic Short Shoes
3. Tory Burch Tumbled Shoes
Electronics:
1. iPhone Accessories
2. Apple iPhone 4 – 16GB – Black
3. Apple iPod Touch 4th Generation 8GB
Toys & Hobbies:
1. Traxxas Slash 4X4 Ultimate 6807 Radio Controlled Truck
2. Webkinz Reindeer
3. Team Associated SC10 Radio Controlled Truck

Shoppers in these five cities spent the most via eBay Mobile on Thanksgiving (by GMV):
1. New York
2. Los Angeles
3. Casa Grande, Ariz.
4. Houston
5. Miami

Shoppers in these five cities made the most purchases via eBay Mobile on Thanksgiving (by sold items):
1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Houston
4. Los Angeles
5. Miami

PayPal Mobile (Global):
· Thanksgiving 2011 resulted in 511% more mobile payment volume compared to Thanksgiving 2010
· There was a 350% increase in the number of customers shopping through PayPal mobile on Thanksgiving 2011 compared to last year

Shoppers in these cities made the most mobile purchases through PayPal on Thanksgiving 2011:
1. New York
2. Houston
3. Los Angeles
4. Miami
5. Chicago

GSI Commerce Mobile (U.S.):
· GSI Commerce reported a 345% increase in U.S. mobile sales this Thanksgiving compared to 2010

Cheers,
RBH

I have a tendency to get a bit sentimental on the blog at times like this so I’ll keep it brief. I’m never more thankful at any point in my life, as I am right now. Particularly given all that is going on in the world right now. Family, colleagues, peers and friends – it doesn’t get much better than this. I wanted to share a card that I found in my bag last week from my eldest daughter, Addison (blogging with me above). It is a picture she drew of my computer, complete with eBay Ink on the screen, and yours truly peering back – moustache and all.

We’ve had a very full 2011 here on Ink and I’m excited about all that the coming year has in store. It’s comforting to know that no matter how hairy it gets, I’ll have this card with me at all times reminding me to give thanks for how good I’ve got it.

Cheers all and Happy Thanksgiving!!

-RBH

Before I head out to start the prep on my soon-to-be-famous sausage/bacon stuffing, I wanted to let those of you in the Bay Area know about a cool promotion the eBay Mobile folks are running in San Francisco on Friday. I’m taking Allie and the kids downtown to check it out. Maybe see you there?

What: eBay Mobile is celebrating Black Friday with a free and open to the public event – Shop with Your Mouth Full. Skip the mall madness and come outside to 5th and Mission to learn about eBay’s mobile apps. The new eBay iPhone 2.0 update, now with selling and RedLaser barcode scanning, launched this week.

Join us for FREE lunch provided by Kung Fu Taco and Chairman Bao – two of San Francisco’s favorite food trucks! There will be lots of fun surprises.

Why: Free food, fun & skip the mall lines to shop outside!

When: Black Friday November 26th from 11:30am to 1:30pm

Where: 5th and Mission in front of the San Francisco Chronicle building; for more details see Facebook event

Cheers!
RBH

Radio Advertising
Then, this morning as I’m driving to work, Santa Claus starts talking to me through my radio telling me about all the great deals at eBay… Sure sounds like an advertisement to me. It turns out there are two other radio spots that have been running in lead up to the holidays. You can listen to them HERE and HERE.

PR Updates
So I went back and looked at emails that I get on a weekly basis from our consumer PR team and there’s a heck of a lot of PR and promotion going on out there. (If you’re interested in me sharing more of what those individual TV, radio and magazine/e-zine spots are, I’m happy to provide here but it will make for a long blog post). I will provide just a couple of examples though…

For one, Griff has made a number of TV appearances recently talking about deals on eBay. This morning he was on CNBC talking about trends in online consumers and in addition to being likened to Santa Claus at the beginning of the interview, he was also quick to point out that “eBay sellers have come to the rescue [of buyers], by offering the best possible pricing online.” You can view the interview HERE.

eBay $1 Holiday Doorbusters
• Forbes.com featured a story on the trend of online retailers offering deals and promotions before Black Friday, and reporter Elizabeth Woyke noted that deals can “always found on eBay” and included information about the “Holiday Doorbusters sweepstakes.” Furthermore, she reported that from November 24 to December 8, several lucky shoppers have the opportunity to purchase iPod nanos and Nikon Coolpix cameras for $1.

• Daily Candy, an influential, daily e-mail newsletter and website featured a sponsored link in their weekly Deals email. The post highlights the $1 Holiday Doorbusters initiative and includes a link to the Doorbusters Web site: http://www.ebay.com/doorbusters. Add-ons include additional eBay banner ads and placements on their website.

• WHP CBS 21 (Harrisburg, PA) featured a segment on eBay’s $1 Holiday Doorbusters. The reporter noted that eBay is “hitting the ground running” by offering 100 items for one dollar on its Web site starting now through December 8. Several of the items include GPS devices, digital cameras and a brand-new car or plasma TV.

• KOLO-TV CH 8 (ABC-Reno) announced on its 5 p.m. program that eBay unveiled its $1 Holiday Doorbusters promotion. The segment noted that items including toys, electronics, sporting goods and jewelry, will be posted randomly on the site each day of the promotion, as well as one luxury item per day.

• The following online outlets have also featured featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: The Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Wichita Business Journal, AuctionBytes (includes a link to http://www.ebay.com/deals), Centre Daily Times (includes a link to Doorbusters landing page), San Jose Business Journal, Tech Journal South, Atlanta Business Journal, The Motley Fool, FayObserver.com, ABC15.com (Phoenix, Arizona)

• The following Coupon Web sites have featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: Fat Wallet, GottaDeal.com, DealLighted.com, DealsSmart.

• The following blogs have featured information on the Doorbusters promotion: Bargain Finder Pro, Bargain Hunter, 9 Malls Blog (includes a link to Doorbusters landing page), Buffalo News.

Like I said, there are a large number of examples like this illustrating exactly how eBay is promoting the marketplace both in the press and through advertising. Again, this blog is not intended to be a platform for me to regurgitate kool-aid (ouch… not a good visual) but if folks are interested in me breaking down factually (and without spin) where and how the marketplace is promoted online, in print and through radio/TV, I’m more than happy to.

For those American readers out there, I wish you a very safe and a very happy Thanksgiving with both family and friends. I’m very excited to celebrate Quincy’s first Thanksgiving (and to enjoy three NFL games on turkey-day… despite the seemingly poor match-ups). I also look forward to coming back on Monday refreshed (and turkey-filled) and ready to hit the ground running again with Ink.

Cheers,
RBH