On Friday the first eBay Concept Store opened it’s doors in the UK, in what can only be described as one of the most unlikely cities in the UK. This is Wolverhampton, once in the heartland of the Black Country and now a city in need of ongoing development and regeneration.
The eBay Concept Store isn’t going to save Wolverhampton, neither is it going to save the High Street. What the eBay Concept Store aims to do is reinvent traditional high street retail. For 40 small businesses and eBay, the eBay Concept Store will act as a retail experiment, using QR codes for purchases and tracking a number of sales and traffic metrics.
Whilst only a small selection of products will be on display, a far greater number will be available to purchase online in and the store is designed to provide an opportunity to better understand the interaction between physical and online retail and explore the valuable role physical stores can play in driving separate, online sales.
Under the theme ‘Home Grown by Wolverhampton’, the 40 retailers are part of eBay’s Retail Revival programme and have already seen sales of over £2 million. Now the idea is to find out just how much real life human interaction can drive online sales.
You may look at this and think 40 sellers, in Wolverhampton, for one month, this isn’t a big deal… and you’d be right in a way. However, what eBay are aiming to do in the UK with the Retail Revival Program and the eBay Concept Store is to write a play book for how eBay can be used to boost a local business and connect the high street with the online world. Once the formula is cracked then the program can be rolled out to more cities and more importantly converted into training courses that can be delivered across the country and that’s what the ultimate aim is. Lessons learned in Wolverhampton will become part of how eBay interacts with small businesses in the future and should reveal the guidance, support and tools that businesses need to become successful.
eBay Concept Store
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Hugglepets |
Sagecook |
Sloane Squared |
Goodstart Jones |
Orson Equipment |
FizzBizz |
Dainese-Wolves |
Just Because |
Supply Hut |
Tool Save |
20% off Retail Revival Products featured in the eBay Concept Store
eBay are funding a 20% discount on the stores that featured in the bricks and mortar eBay Concept Store pop-up. Showcasing products from businesses participating in eBay’s Retail Revival Programme this coupon aims to help them shine centre-stage alongside the big brands featured on eBay.
- CODE: POP20
- 20% off Retail Revival Products
- 20% off selected stores and brands including Adidas, Panasonic, Babyliss, and Eve Sleep
- Starting: 10:00am Monday 13th May 2019
- Ending: 11:59pm Thursday 16th May 2019
- UK users only, one redemption per user
- Min Spend: £25
2 Responses
like argos ?? but slower and by post
Like eBay, like High St, like more sales, jobs, money into the local economy…
I think it’s a great idea rather than ‘taking sales away from the High St’ it’s helping to bring money back into the local economy.
Why not help businesses sell online while helping local business?