SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A new national survey reveals the overwhelming majority of Americans (81%) increasingly struggle when it comes to finding perfect holiday gifts.1 Nearly two-thirds (65%) of shoppers agree traditional gift guides alone are not the answer, and 74% of Millennials cite the decline in personal conversations for their dearth of gift inspiration. To address this need, eBay delivers a new way to approach holiday gifting – by helping people have more thoughtful conversations with their friends and family, leading to better gift ideas. Released today, eBay’s #GiftGoals guides shoppers on a journey via social media, beginning with engaging conversation topics and culminating with gift inspiration – all mapped to 12 different personality types, including the “Wellness Guru,” “Décor Connoisseur” and the “Foodiest Friend.”
Making the holidays more social and personal, #GiftGoals uses thought-provoking questions to encourage shoppers to rely on live, meaningful conversations as a starting point for inspiration. Dynamic GIFs and interactive experiences provide personalized content tailored for Twitter, Facebook Canvas and Instagram. eBay will also offer real-time advice from social influencers on Facebook Live, targeted advertising on Snapchat, a gifting opportunity on Imgur and creative content across Reddit, WeHeartIt, Kikk and more. With this inspiration, shoppers can browse eBay’s more than one billion items to find their perfect; whether it’s the season’s must-have electronics like new Apple iPhones or the season’s most coveted and hard-to-find items that are sold out everywhere else – like Adidas YEEZY 350 V2 Boosts, Hatchimals, the Nintendo NES Classic and Kenzo x H&M collection.
“eBay’s #GiftGoals challenges the traditional way that people shop for gifts,” said Hal Lawton, Senior Vice President of eBay North America. "By bridging social media and socializing in the real world, shoppers are able to first get inspired through conversations – and then discover incredible items from eBay’s unmatched selection. Only eBay could deliver this type of holiday gifting experience, because eBay has the best choice, with perfect holiday gifts for everyone on your list.”
For even more customized gift recommendations, eBay recently introduced eBay ShopBot beta – a personalized shopping assistant on Facebook Messenger. Through conversations on Facebook Messenger, eBay ShopBot surfaces gifts quickly mapped to different personality types, such as the “Tech Obsessed Dad,” “Active Moms,” “Bohemian Girlfriends,” and shoppers can also set price limits. With updated artificial intelligence smarts, you will discover the gifts they’re waiting for, always at a great price.
The Perfect Deal
Last year, 67% of Americans gave up on finding the perfect gift for someone due to lack of time, and 74% had difficulty finding the right deals. Leading up to Black Friday, eBay.com will feature a countdown clock alerting shoppers to the latest selection of extraordinary cross-category deals, including:
- DJI Phantom 4 Drone– $899.00
- Xbox One S Gear 1TB console + Xbox One S Controller White + Xbox One Deus Ex: Mankind Divided - $299.99
- PlayStation 4 Pro Console + Watch Dog 2 + Street Fighter Bundle – $399.99
- Apple iPad Pro 12.9" 256GB WiFi – $649.99
- Ninja Coffee Bar Brewer – $79.99
- Wine Bundle: 12 Bottles of Wine – $359.99
- Wine Bundle: 6 Bottles of Wine – $99.99
- Citizen Eco-Drive Stainless Steel Black Leather Men’s Watch – $109.99
On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, eBay will debut a collection of deals exclusively created for mobile shoppers using the eBay app, making it easier to shop on-the-go. Then, starting on Thanksgiving, hundreds of deals will become available with new deals launching every two hours throughout the Cyber 5 weekend. With eBay’s unmatched selection, there is no need to worry about availability or competitive prices on must-have gifts – shoppers can visit eBay’s Holiday Workshop (eBay.com/holiday) as well as the Daily Deals page (deals.ebay.com) throughout the season, where 100% of items ship free.
The Popular Vote
For shoppers looking to uncover what’s trending around the country, eBay’s Holiday Heatmap (ebayinc.com/holiday) highlights the most popular gifts, state by state. According to early national data, top toys include Hatchimals, Pokémon merchandise, Hot Wheels and the new Hasbro® Speak Out game, while GoPro 3+, Apple iPhones, and Lenovo laptops remain as some of the most in-demand tech items of the season so far.
eBay has the best choice for holiday shopping – you can shop for everyone on your list and find great gifts across fashion, tech, home and toys. With fast and free delivery on most items, eBay lets you shop the way you want, anytime, anywhere. Visit ebay.com/holiday and follow @eBay on social.
eBay By the Numbers
- eBay, Inc. has 165 million active buyers worldwide
- 81% of all merchandise sold on eBay is new, and our wide selection keeps growing
- ~87% of items sold on eBay are Buy It Now – no bidding necessary
- Approximately 1 billion listings at any given time
- 100% free shipping on all items in Daily Deals
About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection. In 2015, eBay enabled $82 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more information about the company and its global portfolio of online brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
Methodological Notes1:
The eBay Survey was conducted by Wakefield Research (www.wakefieldresearch.com) among 1,000 nationally representative U.S. adults ages 18+, between October 7th and October 13th, 2016, using an email invitation and an online survey. Quotas have been set to ensure reliable and accurate representation of the U.S. adult population ages 18+. Results of any sample are subject to sampling variation. The magnitude of the variation is measurable and is affected by the number of interviews and the level of the percentages expressing the results. For the interviews conducted in this particular study, the chances are 95 in 100 that a survey result does not vary, plus or minus, by more than 3.1 percentage points from the result that would be obtained if interviews had been conducted with all persons in the universe represented by the sample.
