From the hottest cinema and TV releases to the most exciting sports events, the biggest cultural moments in our calendar year have the power to captivate the nation, and inspire them to shop.
And while shopper behaviours are constantly evolving, our insights into our millions of eBay shoppers give us a front-row seat to see for ourselves what impact these cultural and on screen sensations have on shopping trends – and help our sellers make culture shoppable.
Take Regency-era blockbuster Bridgerton whose second season is hitting screens on 25th March. When it first aired at the end of 2020, no one could have predicted quite how gargantuan its cultural impact would be. Just one month after the eight episodes dropped, data from eBay UK revealed that Bridgerton had already prompted people’s fashion, hobbies and home decor purchases, with searches of ‘seen on screen’ items, such as wisteria plants (300%), afternoon tea sets (42%) and corsets (39%) spiking on ebay.co.uk.
Since then, the hit show has continued to capture the imaginations of audiences worldwide and the ‘Bridgerton Effect’ has persisted. For example, our most recent data has shown that in February 2022 searches for ‘Bridgerton outfit’, ‘ascot dress’ and ‘faux wisteria’, rose 750%, 316% and 143% respectively on eBay compared to the same time last year.
And there are plenty more significant cultural moments taking place this year that will captivate the nation and influence consumers’ shopping habits, with the latest film in the wizarding franchise hitting cinemas in April and major sporting events happening this year.
With this in mind, here are our top three pieces of advice to help you capitalise on the culture craze in the year ahead…
- Plan well in advance
Whether it’s sports matches, film releases or shows, every year is peppered with occasions that have become retail events in their own right. To ensure you’re in the strongest position to cater to fans when they’re inspired to shop, you need to plan ahead – starting by mapping key dates into your campaign calendar.
Once you identify which cultural moments your buyers might be interested in, the main things you’ll want to look at are:
- Do you have adequate inventory in place? Your products are the lifeblood of your eBay business, so ensuring you have enough stock to meet demand is a must.
- Should you refresh your listing images? High-quality images are key to showing your listings in their best light.
- Have you got a relevant, effective listing title? Include as much information as possible to make your item hyper-searchable and relevant to that big cultural moment — using 15 or more keywords (read more on this in section two).
- Are your listing descriptions informative? A well written item description tells a buyer everything they need to know about your item. Keep it short, punchy and as accurate as possible (including any issues such as chips, tears etc). Once again, be sure to inter-weave the description with keywords.
- Review your pricing: Listing your items at the right price will help them sell. Look around on eBay for similar products to get an idea of what other sellers are charging and help you settle on a competitive price.
- Consider free shipping: This is a great way to stand out against the competition and make your listing more appealing to buyers. It can also simplify the selling experience for you as you won’t have to calculate shipping costs for every item you list.
Click here to read our series of short guides on how to create great listings on eBay and convert your products into sales.
- Include cultural keywords in your listing titles and descriptions
Keywords are one of the most critical elements of your eBay listings to get right. If you’re looking to engage with shoppers who are inspired by what they see on screen, you should revamp the keywords you use in your listings titles and descriptions in advance to include cultural references.
The main thing you should think about is what terms and phrases will buyers use to search for the item? Will it be ‘Peaky Blinders flat cap’, ‘Harry Potter wand’ or ‘England football shirt’? Using relevant keywords will help buyers to easily identify your products and boost your chances of making a sale.
And if you’re looking for inspiration, why not check out how other sellers are already marketing similar products? Look closely at which listings look more appealing at first glance — this way, you can work out how to stand out from the crowd and engage with culture aficionados.
- Use Promoted Listings to get cut-through
At eBay, we know that big cultural trends drive consumer spend, which is why we want to give you the tools you need to make the most of the opportunity and reach your full potential.
That’s where our family of Promoted Listings solutions come in. Our three campaign types can help you get cut through when demand spikes — making sure your eBay listings are noticed by the right buyers at the right time, increasing the likelihood of a sale.
- Promoted Listings Standard is the solution you’re likely most familiar with. It’s a low-risk way to boost the visibility of listings — giving you access to 60+ placements across the eBay network on desktop, mobile and the eBay app.
- Promoted Listings Advanced enables eligible sellers to bid to promote their listings in the coveted top slot of the search results page — giving your products greater visibility in a premium position.
- Promoted Listings Express lets you boost visibility for your auction-style listings, with your listings appearing in sponsored ads on similar listings’ pages — helping you reach the right buyers at the right time
Check out the Seller Centre to find out more about our Promoted Listings tools.
With the year ahead full of iconic cultural moments you can use to engage with buyers and boost your bottom line, there’s not a moment to lose.
