Evi Abeler for eBay
Ebay Inc. has launched a new Interests feature that will narrow down the site’s 1.1 billion items to those things that individual shoppers will be most likely to buy.
After gathering information about a shopper’s hobbies and style, visitors are presented with merchandise that’s been selected for them.
Ebay has 171 million active global consumers, the company said. Among them are a set of loyal customers who are into everything from Star Wars to a particular sports team, some of them visiting daily, according to Bradford Shellhammer, head of browse and personalization for eBay Others are more casual shoppers who visit less frequently and are not as committed to any one category.
The approach to Interests was more like that of the Spotify Technology S.A. or Facebook Inc. Instagram apps, Shellhammer said, tackling the tool more like a tech company than a retailer. They want shoppers to make a purchase, but “we are agnostic about what you buy,” he told MarketWatch during a demonstration of the new feature.
“We don’t want to have a generic big-box view,” Shellhammer said.
Ebay gave personalized demonstrations to the media, saying that with the exception of an occasional glitch—in one case, the tool mixed up the gender of a reporter’s child—the feedback had been largely positive.
The choices included for my personal store, shown in the photo above, included a one-shoulder Diane von Furstenberg cocktail dress, items from the Stella McCartney collection for Adidas AG a selection of wine and a wine rack, and beauty cream from La Mer. I could live happily in this tiny room.
Ebay Interests is available on the company’s mobile app in the U.S. for both iOS and Android devices. It will roll out internationally in the coming months.
Ebay shares are up nearly 14% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 15% for the period.