eBay have apointed a new vice president of fashion in the US, a new post at eBay to oversee our fashion initiatives, including luxury. Charis Márquez takes on the role as fashion becomes increasingly important in driving engagement on the platform.
“Ecommerce speed, availability and even familiarity is increasingly moving luxury’s online, and eBay is poised to connect high fashion with more shoppers from around the world than ever before. We’re already making the exclusive accessible and couture convenient — as evident by our impressive growth in luxury watches and sneakers.”
– Jordan Sweetnam, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Americas, eBay
eBay are growing fashion incentives fast with authentication services for watches and sneakers (trainers in the UK!) plus for sneakers there are no fees for selling a pair worth over $100. eBay have already seen double-digit growth in luxury watch sales, and authenticated more than 150,000 pairs of sneakers.
The reason programmes like these are so important isn’t the GMV generated and certainly in the case of sneakers there are no final value fees so eBay lose money on every sale. The loss leader is worthwhile because buyers then go on to make future purchases and most of their spend is in other categories.
eBay CEO, Jamie Iannone, recently revealed that in 2020, the average customer who purchased a pair of sneakers over $100 went on to spend a total of $2,500 on eBay. Even better, about 80% of that spend was in categories outside of sneakers. If eBay can capture a customer and get them to spunk some money in authenticated sneakers they’ll become a buyer spending across the marketplace and that’s where you win – Even if you don’t sell sneakers/trainers, there’s around $2,400 for every new customer to spread around and some of that could be on your products.
Charis has a big role to play in managing executions that will attract new buyers to the site. She’s not just there to sell a few garments to existing buyers, her biggest challenge is to get people to buy on eBay that have never previously considered make a purchase on the marketplace.
“My excitement at joining eBay in this new role can’t be overstated. I’ve always admired eBay’s position as the originator of the resale platform, and believe it is the ideal ecommerce stage for luxury brands and sellers seeking both a wider as well as a more digitally-confident audience. eBay feeds my passion for fashion, but also recommerce and sustainability — a passion shared by many next-generation shoppers. Additionally, I’ve closely followed the company’s recent investments in sneakers, luxury and authentication, and look forward to building on these experiences for the millions of people who sell and shop on eBay every day.
To me, one of eBay’s most unique qualities is its inventory of items that are rare, scarce, exclusive – even singular. It is an incredible destination for fashion enthusiasts of all categories and quality. We all want a piece of luxury, and I’m thrilled by the opportunity to further strengthen eBay’s position as a luxury player.”
– Charis Márquez, vice president of fashion, eBay
