On Cyber Monday mobile commerce sales from eBay shoppers in the United States increased 146 percent year-over-year, with California, Nevada, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Florida leading the way as the top mobile shopping states.

Mobile shopping peaked between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. EST. The strong growth in mobile holiday shopping reflects increasing consumer adoption of mobile commerce, with eBay mobile expecting to generate more than $1.5 billion in gross merchandise volume in 2010, compared to $600 million in 2009.

“Mobile commerce has been growing this year, as many consumers are choosing to shop on mobile to save both money and time,” said Steve Yankovich, vice president of mobile at eBay, San Jose, CA. “The lines between in store and online are blurring as many shoppers always have their smartphone on hand, ready to scan or click for the best deal.

“With RedLaser bar code-scanning, all users need to do is point their camera, tap the phone with their thumb and listings for the exact item they are looking for will populate,” he said.

“For example, if you are shopping in-store this holiday season and see a popular electronic or fashion item on the shelf, simply scan the bar code using your eBay iPhone app and you can comparison-shop instantly with eBay.com for often the best prices.”

EBay launched its first application for Apple’s iPhone in July 2008 and has since continued to ramp up its mobile commerce initiatives.

Its core iPhone application, which is available free via iTunes in eight languages and 190 countries, has been downloaded more than 13 million times and lets users browse and buy without leaving the application.

The eBay application for the iPad debuted in the top ten most downloaded free iPad applications in the iTunes Store and delivers a tablet-optimized shopping experience to browse and buy the vast selection of products available on eBay.

EBay’s suite of mobile applications, including Selling, Classifieds, StubHub and Deals, are designed to make selling and buying possible virtually anywhere, anytime.

In 2009, eBay’s mobile gross merchandise volume (GMV)—the value of all goods sold—was more than $600 million.

EBay expects to generate $1.5 billion in GMV through mobile commerce in 2010.

Mobile commerce boom on Cyber Monday
Mr. Yankovich said that this holiday season’s strong growth speaks for itself: Mobile is the future of shopping.

Consumers are realizing more than ever that you can shop smarter by taking their phone with them when they hit the mall—or by avoiding the mall altogether.

Mr. Yankovich said that whether consumers are hunting for fashion, deals or comparing prices, eBay mobile applications bridge the gap between online and in-store shopping and put the world’s largest online marketplace right in their pocket.

A survey of mobile shoppers in the U.S. conducted for eBay by SmithGeiger LLC shows that more than half of the people who regularly shop using their phones are comfortable spending $100-plus on a mobile purchase, with 14 percent willing to spend over a thousand dollars.

On average, according to the survey, mobile shoppers spend more than $100 per month on mobile purchases.

Earlier this year, an eBay shopper purchased a Mercedes-Benz for $240,000 using their mobile phone.

A new interactive infographic application available at http://www.ebayinc.com/mobilecommerce captures eBay mobile shopping trends from Nov. 22 through Nov. 29 within the top 20 eBay product categories across eBay’s leading mobile commerce markets.

Among the findings from the past week, eBay mobile data demonstrates that the iPhone is the leading mobile platform for eBay shoppers this year, with approximately two-thirds of eBay sales during the holiday week coming from iPhone users.

The remaining third was comprised of Google’s Android, Research In Motion’s BlackBerry and mobile Web users combined, and where available, Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

Mobile commerce trends
EBay’s mobile commerce infographic application reveals the following trends:

In the U.S., cars and trucks topped the list of products purchased by mobile phones, based on total mobile GMV.

Mobile phone and PDA accessories and women’s clothing led in terms of total number of transactions.

During Nov. 22 through Nov. 29, the most money was spent using mobile phones in California, Texas, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania.

California was the most active state in both sales volume and number of transactions.

The clothing and accessories category accounted for the highest percentage of mobile sales in California, followed in order by cars & trucks, sporting goods, auto parts and accessories for mobile phones and PDAs. 

Mobile commerce is showing strong growth worldwide.

EBay mobile commerce purchases were up 230 percent year-over-year from Nov. 22 to Nov. 29 in eBay’s top six global mobile commerce markets—the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Britain and Australia.

Cars/trucks and clothing/accessories were the most popular categories.

From Nov. 22 to Nov. 29, cars and trucks led in mobile GMV in all of eBay’s top markets except for France.

Instead, French mobile shoppers focused their purchasing mostly on clothing/accessories and toys.

In sporting goods, Australians made the most mobile purchases.

Britain was by far the strongest in purchases of cars and trucks, which made up 20 percent of mobile sales, while Germany was the only country where auto parts appeared as the No. 1 category.

Canada was the only country in which collectibles ranked in the top five for the holiday week.

New eBay iPhone app
Just in time for holiday shopping, eBay recently released a new version of its core iPhone application that adds selling functionality and integrates eBay’s leading RedLaser bar code-scanning technology.

The new version bridges in-store and mobile shopping experiences so that holiday shoppers can scan to comparison-shop across a wider selection of merchandise, including electronics, movies and videogames.

Total RedLaser iPhone application downloads have tripled since eBay’s June announcement that it had acquired the RedLaser technology.

Total Selling iPhone application downloads have increased nearly five-fold since that application’s launch internationally in July.

EBay is bringing these scanning and selling features to its 13 million-plus users on its main iPhone application.

According to the Mobile Marketing Association, 59 percent of mobile consumers plan to make use of their mobile phone for shopping and planning purposes this holiday season and 64 percent of consumers plan to use their mobile phone to help scout out deals before leaving for the stores. 

Scan to compare and save on gifts
With more than 200 million listings available at any given time on eBay, shoppers have access to a wide selection of merchandise right from their mobile phone.

EBay is trying to make it easier for its millions of iPhone application users to comparison-shop this holiday season, whether someone is checking out their friend’s latest gadget from the comforts of home or braving the malls this holiday season.

With the integration of RedLaser bar code-scanning technology, shoppers can scan products to find great deals using their mobile devices.

With eBay Mobile, users can research sales trends, list items and manage listings.

Users can now search for completed listings to see what similar items recently sold for.

In combination with RedLaser scanning technology, repeat sellers can scan a product and list it on eBay in 60 seconds or less.

If a user is listing a similar item sold or selling on eBay, users can simply use eBay’s “Sell One Like This” feature to create a listing that is automatically populated with information like category and item condition, a feature geared toward the casual seller.

Application users can also get access to the latest deals across eBay and choose to remain logged in to PayPal for a seamless and quick payment experience.

EBay Deal Finder app
Every savvy shopper does a little comparison-shopping.

This holiday season eBay is aiming to aid in that process with the new eBay Deal Finder, a beta tool that shows shoppers deals online for perfect gifts.

By comparing eBay listings with the same products on Web sites such as Amazon.com and BestBuy.com, Deal Finder gives shoppers access to more than 50,000 deals online.

Bargain hunters can browse deals in movies, video games, electronics, music and books and save between 10 percent and 60 percent, according to eBay.

All deals are buy-it-now items from eBay top-rated sellers who have earned consistently high ratings for their service and quick, reliable shipping.

BlackBerry users are the first to get a shortcut to some of the deepest discounts online.

The recently updated eBay app for BlackBerry smartphones offers a selection of top deals from eBay Deal Finder.

EBay data shows that BlackBerry application users are especially interested in shopping for media, electronics and other technology products on their phones, and adding eBay Deal Finder into the application will bring deals on these items straight to their smartphones.

3D fashion application
EBay has recently been developing augmented reality tools to let mobile shoppers feel like an item is part of their environment, with plans to integrate into the eBay Fashion app in December 2010.

This application will be one of the first of its kind, per Mr. Yankovich.

One tool eBay is developing will let users try on standard sunglass styles with their phone camera to see what looks best before buying.

There is even technology to detect where the hair ends and the ears start to make it look as realistic as possible.

“EBay Mobile is always focused on improving all of our mobile shopping experiences across the various platforms we support,” Mr. Yankovich said. “We have seen all ages and demographics engage in mobile commerce—you must be 18 years or older to use eBay.”

PayPal is the payment method of choice on eBay Mobile, and users can self-select to stay logged into PayPal for a streamlined check out experience.

“Just a few clicks and the item is paid for and the transaction is complete,” Mr. Yankovich said.

There are some shopping experiences unique to mobile commerce that consumers might prefer, per eBay.

“It can be much more convenient, allowing a shopper to try on an item without having to go to the mall and find that item in stores,” Mr. Yankovich said.

For example, a shopper can find the sunglass style they prefer at home or on the go, an extremely convenient shopping experience, per eBay.

This helps the fashion brands become more engaged with consumers outside the bricks-and-mortar environment, bridging the gap between online and offline.

There are also shopping experiences that are not available in bricks-and-mortar stores, only on mobile, such as using augmented reality to project a flat-screen TV in consumers’ living room to gauge if black or chrome works best with their décor.

“We have and continue to partner with fashion brands and retailers to strengthen the mobile commerce offerings,” Mr. Yankovich said. “Many fashion brands and retailers recognize the strength of mobile commerce and want to make their merchandize surface on eBay mobile or utilize RedLaser technology in their own apps.

“We are looking into having local results surface in our RedLaser comparison-shopping results, so consumers have the choice of in-store [shopping] as well,” he said.

“Even if our users may not select an eBay product every time, we are confident if they start with us first, they will be more engaged with eBay Mobile, therefore continue to come back and ultimately shop more with us.”

Final Take