eBay was quick to publish Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday sales data. What they published was tied exclusively to mobile sales.
I think what is not said with these numbers is also very telling.
Remember, there are now two kinds of sales: mobile and desktop. A small portion of mobile shoppers are brand new eBay customers, new to the marketplace because of the app on their smartphone (it was pre-installed on my Windows phone). But the rest of these sales were diverted from desktops.
What would be helpful to me, a seller, is to know if gross sales (across formats) were up or down. Since they aren't singing the praises of total sales, my guess is the news is not favorable.
But they have given us this crumb, so let's take from it what we can.
First, mobile sales are increasing. Yay, mobile is up! People are shopping anytime, anywhere from their phones and tablets. That is great. Glad to hear it. Spend more money everywhere you are, shoppers!
As sellers, we need to be sure our templates are mobile-friendly. Dump any scrolling, flowery, flash-laden code from your template. Dump extra text, such as "If you have a question you better ask it now because if you ask after committing to buy then you are a poo-poo head." You can now also drop the international sales disclaimer since eBay has your back on this, whether or not you state in your listings customs fees are extra.
Second, mobile shoppers are shopping most frequently between noon and 1 p.m. (pacific time). For optimum visibility, schedule auctions to end between 12 and 1 p.m. (PT) on Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday next year.
One final thought... if you are using auctions during the holiday shopping season, ALWAYS have a reasonable buy-it-now price. This allows holiday shoppers who want to buy it and be done to do so.
