Can eBay’s Technology Initiatives Drive Revenues?

eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) is working on several initiatives to make its platform more appealing and simple for buyers and sellers to transact. From launching the world’s first virtual reality store to emotional recognition technology, the company is working on several technology innovations to attract buyers. Recently eBay opened a pop-up store in London where shoppers can enter a booth containing a screen, headphones and camera and browse items to find out which ones they “emotionally connect with”. While this technology has not been incorporated in its e-commerce website, eBay’s offline experiment is aimed towards making gift-buying over the holiday season emotional rather than transactional. As consumers shift away from the convenience and price advantage of online shopping (which are now considered a “given”) additional features which make this experience more fulfilling can attract buyers in the long term. We believe eBay’s innovative ideas should give it a competitive edge, provided it is able to match the fast delivery and price and quality guarantees offered by other players.

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Taking the e Commerce Experience To The Next Level

While e-commerce has introduced a convenient way of shopping to consumers, it has not been able to replicate the personal aspect of shopping. With its technology initiatives, eBay is looking to change this and make the online shopping experience as close to offline shopping as possible (without the hassles). Artificial intelligence will likely be able to significantly improve the e-commerce experience, with innovations such as more intelligent searches and personal shopping virtual assistants. As a result, e-commcerce players will be able to understand consumer requirements better. eBay’s experiment with sensors, which analyze users’ reactions to products they see with the aim of providing gift suggestions, indicates that the company is looking at making the online shopping experience more personal.

With these initiatives, eBay is looking to develop a competitive edge as e-commerce moves beyond just offering convenience and competitive prices. Innovative use of artificial intelligence will differentiate e-commerce players over the long term, and eBay appears to be gearing up for this. If eBay is able to accelerate the growth in users on its platform through these initiatives, there would be a significant upside to our price estimate.

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