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Objectives and strategy

The overall eBay aims are to increase the gross mer‑

chandise volume and net revenues from the eBay 

marketplace. More detailed objectives are defined to 

achieve these aims, with strategies focussing on:

1 

Acquisition – increasing the number of newly regis‑

tered users on the eBay marketplace.

2 

Activation – increasing the number of registered 

users that become active bidders, buyers or sellers 

on the eBay marketplace.

3 

Activity – increasing the volume and value of trans‑

actions that are conducted by each active user on 

the eBay marketplace.

The focus on each of these three areas will vary accord‑

ing to strategic priorities in particular local markets.

eBay marketplace growth was driven by defining 

approaches to improve performance in these areas. 

First, category growth was achieved by increasing the 

number and size of categories within the marketplace, 

for example Antiques, Art, Books, and Business and 

Industrial. Second, formats for interaction. eBay Stores 

was developed to enable sellers with a wider range of 

products to showcase their products in a more tradi‑

tional retail format, including the traditional ‘Buy‑It‑Now’ 

 fixed‑  price format. eBay has constantly explored new 

formats, often through acquisition of other companies, 

for example through the acquisition in 2004 of mobile.

de in Germany and Marktplaats.nl in the Netherlands, as 

well as investment in craigslist, the US‑based classified 

ad format. Another acquisition is Rent.com, which ena‑

bles expansion into the online housing and apartment 

rental category. In 2007, eBay acquired StubHub, an 

online ticket marketplace, and it also owns comparison 

marketplace Shopping.com. Finally, marketplace growth 

is achieved through delivering specific sites localised for 

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different geographies as follows. You can see there is 

still potential for greater localisation, for example in parts 

of Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and Asia.

Localised eBay marketplaces:

● 

Australia

● 

Austria

● 

Belgium

● 

Canada

● 

Singapore

● 

South Korea

● 

Spain

● 

France

● 

Germany

● 

Hong Kong

● 

India

● 

Ireland

● 

Sweden

● 

Switzerland

● 

Italy

● 

Malaysia

● 

Netherlands

● 

New Zealand

● 

Philippines

● 

United 

Kingdom

● 

United States

In addition, eBay has a presence in Latin America 

through its investment in MercadoLibre.