“Sale” bells ring: Meet this season's holiday shoppers

When it comes to the holidays, eBay has become the place to shop. The platform outpaced other large online marketplaces in session time with 6.3 minutes spent per visit during December 2017. Overall, holiday shoppers spent a total of 10.5 million days on eBay and conducted 3.2 billion searches on eBay during the holiday season. This year, advertisers launching holiday campaigns will discover eBay’s diverse communities of highly engaged shoppers, who average almost 34% than consumers on competing platforms like Amazon.

There are high hopes—not just for brands to net big sales, but also among shoppers expecting a customized and efficient experience. To that end, eMarketer expects that ecommerce will increase by 15.3% this holiday season. Leveraging eBay’s audience tools and seasonal promotions, marketers can help shoppers find the perfect gift.

Meet eBay’s Holiday Shoppers

While we’ve identified active buyers across hundreds of audience segments, advertisers during the holidays often face the challenge of targeting consumers who shop for someone else. To stay relevant to buyers and connect with new seasonal targets, eBay has developed personas that illuminate popular holiday shopping habits of its year-round communities. Examples of these eBay Holiday Shopper audiences include “Full-Time Moms,” “Millennial Parents” and “Self-Gifters,” each of whom spend the holidays their own way.

Full-Time Moms

“Full-Time Moms” are highly active holiday shoppers and will visit eBay nearly 70 times over the five-month period. Averaging about 15 minutes per each shopping session, they tend to browse before settling on the perfect gift. “Full-Time Moms” make more than 50% of their purchases in the Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Jewelry & Watches and Health & Beauty categories.

Millennial Parents

This persona spends more on average during the holidays than “Full-Time Moms.” Visiting eBay an average of nearly 80 times during that period, “Millennial Parents” also prefer to shop in Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, though they also frequently visit eBay Motors.

Self-Gifters

“Self-Gifters” spend big, though they’ll take their time before settling on the perfect item. Spending on average of just under $1,000 and browsing the site for about 30 minutes per each session, “Self-Gifters” use eBay to be informed about new gifts that match their interests. Typically, this persona shops among eBay Motors, Clothing, Shoes & Accessories, Cell Phones & Accessories and Collectibles.

These insights allow advertisers to better understand and reach their core holiday audiences. Throughout the season, eBay identifies seven key spending moments defined by shopper habits unique to each persona. For example, data reveals that “Self-Gifters” and “Millennial Parents” are heavily active around Thanksgiving, and “Full-Time Moms” are more likely to shop during “Holiday Quality Time” at the beginning of December.

Throughout the season, eBay Advertising can connect brands to these audiences through both behavioral and contextual targeting to help drive an impactful campaign.

Reaching eBay Audiences This Season

We know the holiday rush and who will be flooding our site in the next few months. eBay Advertising not only provides audience tools and insights gathered from our deep understanding of eBay’s community, but we also ensure there are ample opportunities to reach these audiences.

Our holiday ad offerings include high-impact executions like home page takeovers to drive awareness and reach shoppers across devices—all contributing to a strong brand-consumer connection through these major moments. While Cyber Monday 2017 was the highest-spending ecommerce day ever with $3 billion spent on desktop alone, there are other important milestones, like the “Last-Minute Hustle” and the “13th Month” shopping spree, that keeps buyers coming back to the site.

Want to learn more about how you can connect with eBay’s holiday shoppers at the most optimal time? Check out our full “eBay is Where Passion Shops for the Holidays” infographic below.

Discover more about these holiday shopper audiences, high-impact moments and other unique opportunities to maximize visibility. Contact eBay’s ad sales team today.