eBay goes omnichannel for holidays

eBay is targeting consumers across digital and physical channels this holiday season with a new online holiday hub and even in-person selling stations.



Through Jan. 1, 2016, eBay is running a multifaceted holiday campaign called “Wish Bigger.” A central feature is a holiday-specific shopping site, eBay.com/holidays, which will offer features such as a soon-to-launch holiday heat map that will track what eBay customers are wishing and shopping for coast-to-coast on a weekly basis.



Sellers will also be able to take advantage of the heat map to track item popularity across the country. Other features aimed at sellers include in-person stations that will be set up at select Westfield shopping centers Dec. 26 and 27, for what eBay calls “Boxing Weekend.” Sellers will be able to sell unwanted holiday items (or anything else), with optional free listing assistance from the eBay Valet service.



Also blending digital and physical is the eBay “Wish Bigger” Airstream, which will visit five cities beginning the week of Nov. 30. With brand-new inventory sourced according to local survey results showing what people wish for the most in each city, shoppers will have access to new, in-demand items.



Furthermore, on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 26), eBay will let shoppers vote on proposed deals at the soon-to-launch ebay-wish-bigger.com site. From 4 – 10 p.m. ET, shoppers will be able to vote on new deals every hour, with the top vote-getters released for sale in limited quantities. New deals will also be unveiled every hour on the eBay deals site from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday.



“We are using the power of eBay’s global marketplace to enable people to shop, sell and give in new ways this holiday,” said Hal Lawton, senior VP of eBay North America. “We have a unique opportunity to celebrate the traditional retail milestones, but to also create a new calendar based on what we know eBay shoppers and sellers need.”



eBay is making a serious effort to touch customers through as many channels as possible this holiday season. The e-tailer is also putting an innovative twist on typical Black Friday promotions that includes the gamification element of voting for deals. By combining entertainment with deep omnichannel targeting and selling functionality, eBay is increasing the odds it will have a happy holiday season.



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