Dive Brief:
-
EBay’s February auction sales fell 26.2% year over year, according to ChannelAdvisor’s monthly marketplace report. Direct sales at eBay, meanwhile, rose 8.6%.
-
The marketplace’s overall same-store sales rose 5.5%, missing comScore’s 15% year-over-year e-commerce growth rate, ChannelAdvisor’s baseline.
-
More (22.7% year over year) sellers are opting for Amazon, which offers fulfillment services that offers free two-day shipping for Prime members, according to ChannelAdvisor.
Dive Insight:
ChannelAdvisor CEO Scot Wingo says that consumers’ shopping habits are changing, moving away from the deal-hunting thrill of auctions to more direct sales. That change in mood may also be affecting the fortunes of flash-sales sites.
“Auctions are not convenient, and they’re really only good for a niche part in today’s e-commerce world,” Wingo says. “This trend has been going on for quite a while where auctions are waning with consumers. As e-commerce has gone mainstream, people are less into it for treasure hunting.”