Involution intensifies? eBay targets new markets

As the competitiveness of the US market decreases, eBay is targeting the Southeast Asian market.

As the big brother of cross-border e-commerce platforms, eBay has lost momentum in the past two years as global e-commerce is booming, and the aging of platform sellers has become more serious. In the first quarter financial report released recently, eBay's first quarter gross merchandise volume (GMV) was US$19.4 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 20%, and active buyers also decreased by 13% to 142 million.

Under such circumstances, eBay has also begun to shift the focus of its platform, such as focusing on collectibles, sports shoes and other categories. It is reported that eBay is also increasing its layout in the Southeast Asian market.

eBay increases investment in Southeast Asian market

In addition to Europe and the United States, the Southeast Asian market is also favored by cross-border sellers. Alibaba, Tencent and other big players have entered the market, such as Shopee and Lazada. As one of the Southeast Asian countries, Thailand is a potential market that cannot be ignored.

Recently, according to foreign media reports, as Thailand's export potential for various products grows, especially jewelry, diamonds and collectible cards, eBay is stepping up its recruitment of suppliers of these products to further increase its investment in Southeast Asia.

It is reported that Thailand's top five export markets on eBay in 2021 were the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, with strong export growth in categories represented by jewelry, watches, auto parts, collectible cards and furniture.

In addition, Malaysian furniture, Indonesian gems and jewelry, and motorcycle parts are also popular among European and American consumers .

According to eBay, during the epidemic, health and supplement products, furniture, home and garden supplies have become increasingly popular in the Southeast Asian market. As the epidemic eases, the demand for various handicraft products has also been growing.

Vidmay Naini, eBay's newly appointed Southeast Asia and India regional manager, said Thailand is an important export market for eBay in Southeast Asia and the company aims to attract more jewelry, gemstone and diamond sellers from Bangkok, Chanthaburi and Chiang Mai.

Naini expects e-commerce to remain strong in the post-epidemic era, and eBay will also plan to make large investments to attract more new sellers, such as providing sellers with low-cost shipping options, so that small sellers in Southeast Asia such as Thailand will be able to develop rapidly.

In response, eBay said it will continue to work on the eBay NextGen program, providing a series of benefits for small and medium-sized sellers to develop their businesses online, including a subsidy of up to $1,500 per seller. In October last year , eBay's managed payment system also expanded its services to Southeast Asia.

It is not surprising that eBay has set its sights on the Southeast Asian market. The epidemic has accelerated the development of e-commerce in Southeast Asia. As the epidemic eases, purchasing necessities through e-commerce platforms has become an important channel for many local consumers. Coupled with the maturity and saturation of the US market, the potential of the e-commerce market in Southeast Asia has gradually attracted more platforms and sellers to join. Some time ago, Lazada received a new round of US$378 million in financing from its parent company Alibaba.

A study by Google, Temasek, and Bain & Company shows that Southeast Asian consumers are also becoming more engaged in online consumption. Data shows that more than 40 million new users joined the Internet in Southeast Asia in 2020, and 94% of them said they planned to continue to actively use online services.

Faced with the aging of sellers and the shrinking user base in the U.S. market, eBay's target on the Southeast Asian market may be another new opportunity.

While eBay is expanding into emerging markets in Southeast Asia as a development line, it is also constantly strengthening its relationship with sellers on the platform. Preferential policies and corporate support are naturally a good way to do this. In this regard, eBay is also constantly carrying out a series of initiatives to provide sellers with various grants.

eBay grant program is back to help small sellers

eBay's grant program has been in existence for three years. Nominations for this year's program have been opened. eBay will provide grants worth $10,000 to some small businesses until June 10. As for the purpose of this grant, eBay said it is to meet the needs of related companies for improvement, learning and training, and expansion.

Based on previous feedback, more than 90% of the assisted companies stated that funding as well as additional business development resources and mentoring opportunities are necessary to keep their own businesses running normally (especially in the face of challenges such as the epidemic).

In addition, some sellers reported that this assistance plan enabled them to purchase more inventory and expand procurement, and also provided them with opportunities to directly contact suppliers and companies, thus expanding sales channels. It can be seen that eBay's assistance plan has received a good response.

This is not the first time that the platform has provided such grants to sellers. It is understood that this year is the third year of the implementation of the program. Since its launch in April 2020, some companies have been able to receive grants every year, and tens of thousands of companies apply for this project every year.

In fact, in the process of cross-border e-commerce platform development, small and medium-sized sellers occupy half of the major platforms, but while the platforms and sellers are mutually beneficial, conflicts are inevitable. Although there is no "account suspension wave" like Amazon on the eBay platform, which leads to tensions between sellers and platforms, account suspension and other incidents are not uncommon on eBay.

Not long ago, a seller reported that his account was permanently suspended, but no detailed reason was given, and eBay also reminded the seller that his related accounts were also at risk of being suspended. Another seller posted a video on a social media saying that his account was also suspended due to a policy he was not aware of.

Similar situations happen from time to time, causing sellers to complain and the relationship between sellers and platforms has become increasingly delicate. How to appease, communicate, and help sellers develop healthily in the future is also an important direction for the development of eBay and other e-commerce platforms.

eBay is well aware of the importance of sellers. Although the grant program launched this time involves limited sellers, it provides some help to small businesses on its platform. eBay officials have said that small businesses are their backbone and can create the most dynamic market for them... It is reported that eBay is still looking for new ways to invest in small businesses.

If the platform further expands the scope of such plans in the future and introduces more favorable policies, it is believed that more eBay sellers will benefit from it and the seller entry rate will increase. The emerging markets that are about to expand may bring more surprises to eBay sellers.

Nowadays, competition in the US market is becoming increasingly fierce, new e-commerce platforms are constantly emerging, and coupled with Amazon's status as a giant, the "aging" eBay does not have a greater advantage in the market in terms of freshness and competitiveness. The various preferential policies in recent times, as well as the increased attention paid to the Southeast Asian market, new ideas and new directions may be the key to eBay's breakthrough.

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Southeast Asia