BRISBANE, Calif., March 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- eBay Advertising, a division of eBay Inc., today is announcing a shift in its advertising strategy to focus on first-party data and offerings that will help brands drive commerce on the core eBay Marketplace. As part of this strategy, eBay Advertising is building a direct ad sales team for the first time, focused on developing commerce partnerships with global brands to reach buyers at every stage of the shopping journey. The company is also announcing a record 48% increase in the number of advertising customers acquired in 2016. eBay Advertising is working with the world's largest auto, consumer electronics, fashion, health & beauty and home & garden brands.

"Today, shopping happens everywhere and no one understands that better than eBay," said Bridget Davies, VP of eBay Advertising. "The advertising business has evolved over the years, and our relationships with our users provide unique opportunities for brands to laser focus their marketing efforts, and more effectively influence buyer behavior, anywhere anytime. By forging more meaningful, direct relationships with our partners, we'll help them accelerate the path from ad to sale across all platforms."

Over the last year, eBay Advertising has focused on leveraging rich data science and deep customer insights to offer brands the most sophisticated ad solutions that drive sales lift, and increase market share. Only eBay can offer closed loop data based on more than 200 million hours of unique search, browsing and purchases each month. This empowers brands to reach their ideal audience at scale across all channels.

With eBay, brands have access to a massive sales channel of $84 billion GMV(1) and an audience of more than 167 million active buyers. eBay Advertising is providing an ad solution that enables brands to better influence consumer awareness, consideration and sales of their products across search, merchandising, and the entire purchase funnel. With an audience that sits at the intersection of passion and intent, and 81% of purchases being brand new and 87% at a fixed price, there is a tremendous opportunity for new product sales. Unlike other commerce platforms, eBay Advertising offers full data transparency about advertisers' products on eBay's marketplace, sharing these deep data insights for brands to leverage and execute smarter campaigns.

Backed by proprietary data and insights, eBay Advertising recently announced:


    --  New motors shopping data, revealing how technology is influencing how
        consumers purchase cars and automotive insurance
    --  A Seasonal Moments Guide, which profiles the major moments that brands
        can take advantage of, such as Mother's Day or Halloween, to harness
        demand for new merchandise and drive sales. In 2016, the market grew
        faster than expected due to an increase in spending around seasonal
        events, such as the U.S. presidential election and the Summer Olympics.
    --  New solutions for brands that deliver a custom experience, provide
        invaluable consumer path-to-purchase insights, drive velocity and give
        brands more control over the complete shopping experience.

eBay Advertising is currently hiring in-house sales specialists to grow the company's portfolio by vertical, as well as develop long-term relationships with global brand partners. Interested applicants can find out more information and apply here: http://bit.ly/2nCSGL8

The eBay Advertising team will be at Shoptalk March 19-22 in Las Vegas with a booth on the exhibition floor. Bridget Davies, VP of eBay Advertising, will also be speaking on the panel, "Selling on Marketplaces," on Wednesday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m.

For more information, please visit: http://cc.ebay.com/whatsnew/

About eBay Advertising
eBay Advertising, a division of eBay Inc. (Nasdaq: EBAY), helps brands understand and influence the shopping journey of 167M active buyers worldwide. With 1B live listings consisting of the most diverse selection of new, luxury, rare and collectible items in the world, eBay offers unrivaled insights into the shopper's motivation and intent. eBay Advertising data tells a story about what fuels users' actions during each stage of the shopping journey, from product research to purchase. A powerful suite of tools combined with scientific shopping data translates into actionable insights that help brands influence their target market's path-to-purchase and achieve brand and sales goals.

Media Contacts:
Cameron Smead
Karbo Communications for eBay Advertising
415-255-6506
cameron@karbocom.com

Kim Lianthamani
415-255-6512
kim@karbocom.com

(1) eBay 2016 data

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SOURCE eBay Advertising