eBay Hopes Asia-Pacific Will Become Its Largest Market, Surpassing the US and Europe in the Near Future
 |
Meg Whitman, the CEO of eBay, speaks at a press conference in Mumbai, India. Source: AP |
According to CEO Meg Whitman, there are currently over 30 million of eBay’s 181 million registered users residing in the Asia-Pacific region.
“This is still a small market, but with the increasing use of the Internet and broadband, this region will definitely grow larger than our current top markets,” Whitman stated.
No one can deny that the Asia-Pacific is the fastest-growing region today, led by promising markets such as India, China, and South Korea. However, opportunity always comes with challenges. Even now, eBay is facing significant competitive pressure, as e-commerce is a lucrative segment attracting a surge of venture capital, particularly for online travel sites.
Although the number of Internet users in India is approximately 39 million, a tiny fraction of the country’s population of over 1 billion, and credit card users amount to only 15 million, eBay is witnessing a sharp increase in high-value transactions here. Even in smaller cities, online shopping has become quite popular.
In 2004, eBay acquired the Indian online auction site Baazee.com for $50 million. eBay India currently has around 2 million customers. Whitman hopes India will be eBay’s top market in the next 10 to 15 years.
“I was shocked to learn that every 5 minutes, a piece of jewelry is bought or sold on eBay, and it’s diamonds we’re talking about,” revealed Gautam Thakar, the director of eBay India. Similarly, eBay users sell a mobile phone every 7 minutes, a digital camera every 46 minutes, and a motorcycle or car every 9 hours.
Thien Y
