In recent years, eBay has invested in the customer experience to make it easy for buyers and sellers to trade their new and previously owned products.
The marketplace, ranked Top50 in the US500 2025, has been leaning into its sustainability credentials by further enabling shoppers to give a second life to existing products. In the last year, it has further extended its eco ambitions by reaching the goal of running its operations on 100% renewable energy, with a 2045 target to reach net zero carbon emissions.
In its 2024 financial year, the global marketplace reported net income of $1.98bn (-29%) on revenue of $10.3bn (+2% on the previous year) and gross merchandise volume of $74.7bn (+2%).
Jamie Iannone, eBay chief executive, said: “eBay achieved three consecutive quarters of GMV growth to end 2024, and we took significant steps towards our vision of reinventing the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts. I’m proud of how the team has innovated for our buyers and sellers, which has driven significant value for shareholders.”
Highlights of its strategy over the last year included investment in making the customer experience easier to navigate, expansion of the use of AI – in areas such as bulk listings – and the availability of new payment options.
eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in California in 1995, by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar before becoming eBay in 1997. Over the years, it has expanded across categories and markets so that it now sells to shoppers in 190 countries. At the same time, it has also increased its focus on security and authenticity.
On its website, eBay faces the challenge of enabling customers to navigate a range of millions of items and find items that they can trust. Shoppers can find these through search, narrowing down the results through more than 15 filters for each category – from brand, size and colour, through to price, location, means of fulfilment and stock availability. On the product page, customers can see a choice of images, likely delivery dates and whether returns are available, before choosing from payment methods that include PayPal and Google Pay.
Shoppers can take part in live shopping events on the site, shop from brand outlet stores and buy from its daily deals. eBay shares reviews and ratings in the form of seller feedback, which is analysed across four metrics: whether each description was an accurate representation of the product, whether the shipping cost was fair, how long it took to arrive and communication.
This is one of seven company profiles in the new RetailX US500 2025 report.
The first edition assessing the performance of the top 500 ecommerce and multichannel retailers, brands, and marketplaces operating in the US market. It also lists the subsequent “Challenger 500”. The research aims to provide insights into the US retail landscape, consumer behaviour, and the strategies employed by leading retailers to navigate economic uncertainties and meet evolving customer expectations.
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