EBay Inc. reported slight year-over-year growth in both revenue and gross merchandise volume (GMV) for its fiscal second quarter ended June 30.

In January, eBay laid off 1,000 employees, or about 9% of its total workforce.

eBay rankings #6 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest marketplaces of its kind by third-party GMV.

How much revenue did eBay make in the second quarter of 2024?

In the second quarter, eBay generated revenue of $2.57 billion, an increase of about 1% over the same period last year ($2.54 billion). At the same time, eBay increased its gross revenue by 1% to $18.4 billion in the second quarter.

CEO Jamie Iannone said auto parts and accessories again drove eBay’s highest sales in the second quarter, “continuing its trend of healthy growth.” Collectibles were the second-largest contributor to eBay’s gross sales growth in the second quarter. Iannone added that eBay’s gross sales in the refurbished category grew faster than any other category during the quarter.

First-party advertising grew 12% in the second quarter and accounted for 2.2% of eBay’s gross revenue. About 3.1 million sellers bought a product from a single ad in the second quarter, and eBay ended the quarter with about 1 billion listings advertised, nearly half of the 2.1 billion total listings, CEO Jamie Iannone told investors on the second-quarter earnings call.

And after eBay announced in June that it would no longer accept American Express as a payment method, the company added Venmo to its checkout experience in the second quarter.

“Venmo’s mobile-first checkout experiences and strong adoption among Gen Z and Millennials are particularly attractive as we continue to expand our reach in younger demographics,” Iannone said. “The early results of this partnership are encouraging, with a significant portion of our Venmo GMV coming from new or reactivated shoppers.”

eBay investments in the second quarter

Earlier in the second quarter, eBay completed a number of sales with Collectors, including one in which the online marketplace acquired sports auction house Golding Auctions. The company also sold eBay Vault to PSA, which is also part of Collectors.

During the same period, eBay also introduced optional authentication for luxury handbags in the $200 to $500 price range in the US. Additionally, eBay created a custom storefront for May 4, dubbed Star Wars Day, to target the fan community’s enthusiasts. Iannone said Star Wars fans have explored more than a million collectible products from the franchise on eBay.

In Europe, eBay recorded an increase in its sales volume in Germany compared to the previous year.

“When consumers start selling, they also buy on average twice as much on eBay as non-sellers, with the majority of this additional volume benefiting B2C sellers,” Iannone said.

He added that success in Germany influenced eBay’s decision to invest in improving the used clothing selling experience in the UK. In addition, he said eBay has introduced a new generative, AI-powered shopping experience for its Shop the Look and Explore pages.

eBay revises its generative AI tools

Sellers using eBay’s new generative AI tools have increased both the number of listings they have and the number of items they have sold, he said. eBay’s investments in generative AI and machine learning are “simplifying” the buying and selling experience, Iannone said. In doing so, they are making the online marketplace more efficient and helping eBay “better serve customers at all stages of their shopping experience,” Iannone added.

“After fully rolling out generative AI descriptions, eBay is testing the next phase of its listing experience, which will leverage user-uploaded product images to help sellers populate category, title and other item aspects for a listing,” Iannone said.

Check back later for more earnings reports. Here’s eBay’s report from last quarter.

Are you listed in our databases?

Send us your details and we will see where you rank in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay up to date with the latest developments in online retail. Sign up for a free subscription to Digital Commerce 360 ​​Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, ÞjórsárdalurFacebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 ​​​​publishes news.