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Maximise sales with our guide to Q1 events and occasions to prepare for
Selling is what you do best. But even the most experienced sellers can benefit from tapping into trends, occasions and cultural moments. To save you time, we’ve highlighted some key dates in Q1 – as well as some of the practical ways you can maximise these sales opportunities.
eBay recouples with Love Island (16 January - 13 March)
Love Island returns to screens this month – and we’re proud to announce that we’ll once again be sponsoring the popular reality ITV show for its winter instalment. It follows our successful partnership last summer, which directly influenced the shopping habits of UK consumers.
Recent research by ITV shows that 53% of viewers who were aware of the partnership bought secondhand – or “pre-loved” – clothes in the past three months. Since the announcement of the partnership last May, ebay.co.uk also saw a 1600% increase in searches for “pre-loved clothes” compared with the previous year, while Google searches were up 170% [1].
With the increasing awareness of sustainability, combined with eBay Ads’ findings that a fifth of consumers are buying more secondhand items to cut spending, the shift towards pre-loved is only gaining momentum. So, how can you start selling or accelerate your market share in the space?
Our pre-loved seller panel from eBay Open UK 2022 is a great way to learn more about what’s happening in the wider market, as well as strategies you can adopt to become a more circular business.
In the meantime, these 7 steps can help you tap into the pre-loved moment:
- Incorporate pre-loved items into your inventory as a focus
- Include terms such as ‘upcycled’, ‘refurbished’*, ‘vintage’ and ‘pre-loved’ in your listings instead of ‘used’
- Be detailed in your item descriptions and honest about any defects
- Take high quality photos that showcase your items clearly
- If there is one, share the stories behind your items
- Keep your price point competitive
- Try to make your packaging as sustainable as possible – and tell buyers about this by uploading a video to your Shopfront!
Get winter ready (if you haven’t already)
As energy costs continue to rise, more and more consumers are turning to energy saving alternatives to help make ends meet.
Research by eBay Ads shows energy efficient purchases have been front of mind for consumers as early as last July, with searches for items such as “heated blanket” and “loft insulation” rising 132% and 37% compared with July 2021.
As we head further into winter (and beyond), energy efficient purchasing trends will only continue to increase. To help support small businesses selling in these categories, we’re offering 50% off variable final value fees (FVF) until 30 April 2023. This will apply to newly listed items in selected energy saving and alternative energy saving categories. T&Cs apply.
There’s no place like home for consumers
The same research by eBay Ads also reveals how Brits are looking to hunker down at home this winter, with 36% saying they’re planning to socialise at home more as a way to save money. But with this renewed focus on staying in over the winter months, consumers are also looking to refresh and make the most of their homes, for less.
This presents a prime opportunity for sellers specialising in value decor and furniture – or those that want to move into the space. Thanks to new bulky parcel services, you can now also boost your proposition with the option to offer buyers everything from the assembly of furniture, to the removal of old items and packaging.
Get personal for Valentine’s Day (14 February) & Mother’s Day (19 March)
eBay is a one-stop gifting shop, for buyer budgets of all sizes. So, whether you’re a seller specialising in pre-loved or luxury items – and every relevant category in-between – our online marketplace will promote items for both Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day to help support your sales.
If last Christmas is anything to go by, where 56% of consumers planned to buy more thoughtful gifts, we may also see a move away from petrol station flowers! In their place, personalised items are growing more and more popular on eBay – with small businesses that can create a beautiful array of customisable items no doubt being a go-to for gifters.
Closer to the time, we’ll be running a webinar to help you seize the gifting opportunity for Mother’s Day on eBay. So subscribe to our Events page to keep up-to-date with the latest goings-on for eBay sellers.
5 ways to maximise these sales opportunities
1. Optimise your listings
Listings are essentially window displays for your items. Each detail can impact a buyer's decision to view and (hopefully) purchase. So, it’s vital to get the basics right – and this eBay Academy course will help you to do exactly that.
2. Stand out with Promoted Listings Standard
Once you’ve mastered the basics, Promoted Listings Standard is a powerful way to help your items stand out in the eBay marketplace. Best of all? If you don’t sell, you don’t pay – you only pay your chosen ad fee when a buyer clicks on your promoted listing and purchases within 30 days.
3. Use fast, tracked delivery options
Delivery has been a major pain point for sellers in recent months owing to the disruption caused by the Royal Mail strikes. To help you provide a smooth delivery experience, we recommend the use of fast, tracked delivery options to give buyers visibility and help prevent the opening of “item not received” cases.
4. Leverage flexible funding with Capital for eBay Business Sellers
The cost-of-living crisis has made it harder for small businesses to access funding from traditional lenders. That’s why we’ve partnered with YouLend to offer Capital for eBay Business Sellers, so you can fund your growth with fast, flexible funding, which is conveniently repaid as a fixed percentage of your sales.
5. Safeguard your business with enhanced seller protections
Small businesses, like yours, are the beating heart of eBay. So, we’re always striving to protect our community of sellers as much as we can. That’s why Top Rated and Above Standard sellers can now offer partial refunds, as well as the option to request credits for returns labels issued on “item not as described” returns.
If you want more information on any of the above tips, check out eBay Academy to discover how you can use our tools and features to build and grow your brand.
[1] - Source: eBay Inc.
*Please note that the use of the term ‘refurbished’ can only be used by pre-approved sellers in certain electronics categories.
