MILAN — U.S. e-commerce giant eBay is accelerating the global rollout of its “collections” feature as part of efforts to create a more social experience for users of the giant marketplace.
The feature, launched in the U.S. in October 2013, allows users to “personalize” their eBay experience by creating and sharing with followers their own collections of items selected from the more than 700 million objects for sale on the site. The primary goal is to “allow anyone who has a story to tell to tell it,” and not necessarily to generate purchases, said eBay general manager for Italy, France and Spain François Coumau at a press conference here.
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In the U.S., already more than one million user-created collections pages have been set up on the site since the feature’s launch, Coumau said, signaling its popularity. Guest VIPs choose the debut collections in each country: the U.S. launch featured a collection selected by singer-song writer Pharrell Williams.
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Collections, similar to “wish list” functions at other Web retailers, offer a way for consumers to explore and be inspired by experts, celebrities, bloggers and “normal people,” said Coumau. The collections feature is already available to customers in Australia, Canada and Russia. So far, in Europe, the feature was available only to eBay users in the U.K. — which launched on March 6 with a collection curated by Dannii Minogue and features collections by popular bloggers including Susie Bubble and Liberty London Girl — and Germany. Monday marked the debut in Italy, and Thursday will see collections go “live” in France and Spain. Other European countries will follow “in coming weeks,” said Coumau, adding that the collections feature was undergoing a “global launch.”
In Italy, eBay introduced the feature with a Provence-inspired collection by French model Nadège du Bospertus as well as collections chosen by Italian fashion blogger Irene Colzi (of “Irene’s Closet”) and Swedish TV show presenter and model Filippa Lagerback, who resides and works in Italy.
Speaking in general terms, Coumau said eBay is “the perfect partner for brands today” for three reasons: It’s a trading platform and not a retailer, so it doesn’t compete with brands selling on it; it enables all brands and retailers to reach the world, as it connects more than 150 million buyers and sellers in more than 190 countries; and “for brands and retailers it’s a great way to reach new customers who use mobile,” he said. Mobile transactions today represent about 40 percent of the total on eBay, Coumau pointed out.
Focusing on the Italian market, Claudio Raimondi, eBay’s head of trading for Italy, France and Spain, said at the Milan presentation that “inspirational shopping [has] come to Italy.” Raimondi pointed out that collections — or “collezioni,” as the feature is called on the Italian site — “is also fundamental” for sellers, like multibrand retailers, which can present a mix of brands and product areas, juxtaposing, for example, fashion with home and design products. Raimondi added that while the collections feature clearly has a social side to it, it was not eBay’s goal to become a social network. The point is to be able to “share with the people around me” and be inspired by experts you can follow, Raimondi said.