eBay CEO Outlines Progress Plan

The newly stripped-down eBay held its first earnings name on Tuesday (July 28) since asserting plans to promote its classified-ad enterprise to Adevinta for $9.2 billion.

Whereas eBay’s second quarter outcomes had been stellar, the occasion was extra notable for the disclosing of latest CEO Jamie Iannone’s imaginative and prescient for the corporate.

By the numbers, the pandemic-driven digital shift has been good for the corporate, as income for the quarter was $2.9 billion, up 18 % over 2019. Annual energetic patrons grew by 5 % — an addition of eight million new patrons for the quarter — bringing the overall to 182 million international patrons. Gross merchandise quantity additionally rose 26 % 12 months over 12 months to $27.1 billion.

It was the corporate’s first earnings announcement since agreeing to promote its classified-ad unit, a transaction anticipated to shut in 2021’s first quarter. It’s additionally the primary announcement because the finish of eBay’s working settlement with PayPal, which expired July 17. The corporate’s new managed-payments platform has processed $4.7 billion thus far, in line with the corporate’s earnings assertion.

“Although the original operating agreement reached the end of its term, PayPal will remain an important partner moving forward as a payment option for buyers,” Iannone stated on the earnings name.

The CEO used many of the name to elucidate his three-point plan for eBay since his appointment three months in the past amid a boardroom combat over returning the corporate to its market roots. Iannone used the phrase “technology-led reimagination” a number of instances throughout his feedback.

“Put simply, our vision is to build on the company’s powerful strengths to become the best global marketplace for buyers and sellers through a tech-led reimagination of eBay,” he stated. “While there are many accomplishments to be proud of, we are not satisfied with where we currently stand. The reality is that in the past few years, we have not executed to our full potential. New competitors have taken share because we neglected our core area of expertise. We focused on new areas that could not drive sustainable or profitable growth, and to be candid, we did not adapt quickly enough to the rapidly changing needs of our customers. This leaves us with enormous untapped potential that we absolutely must capitalize on.”

Iannone’s three key priorities for the corporate are: construct compelling next-generation experiences for high-volume patrons; turn out to be the companion of alternative for sellers; and domesticate lifelong, trusted purchaser relationships. Iannone spent essentially the most time on the second precedence and stated he sees extra small companies promoting on the eBay platform.

“We will treat them like true partners by making the platform easier to use,” he stated. “We will help them grow their brand, drive their sales and carefully protect their reputation by making eBay more compelling. We plan to grow the number of successful businesses on the platform. Hundreds of thousands of small businesses are already active today, and tens of thousands have recently joined do programs … across our global markets. Recently we launched several improvements to simplify registration and help sellers start and succeed on the platform. Additionally, we have boosted seller presence by launching storefronts in the mobile app.”

The app is a crucial element of the Iannone’s plan, and he stated he sees it as the easiest way to drive extra buy frequency, longer relationships and loyalty amongst patrons.

“We will continue to invest in the buyer experience and marketing technology capabilities as we work to foster lifelong trust in relationships with buyers,” Iannone stated. “As we look forward, we have a clear vision to realize the enormous untapped potential of eBay.”