eBay has reported the fastest growth in its marketplace business for six years.
The online commerce platform put revenue rise of almost a quarter for the second quarter of its financial year down to factors including what eBay president and chief executive John Donahoe dubbed “eBay Marketplaces’ best performance in years,” with year-on-year growth in gross merchandise volume (GMV) of 15%.
GMV in international markets, which include the UK, rose by 16%, while net revenue rose by 23% to $3.4bn (£2.1bn), and net income by 144% to $692m (£440m).
“Our entire company is strong,” said Donahoe, “but we’re particularly pleased with eBay Marketplaces which delivered its strongest organic growth in gross merchandise volume, excluding vehicles, since 2006.”
Its PayPal business showed a 26% rise in revenues, thanks to increased use on eBay as well as wider uptake by consumers and merchants.
Donahoe said that mobile was also set to change the way people shop. “We now expect eBay and PayPal mobile to each transact $10bn (£6.4bn) in 2012 – that’s more than double 2011, a staggering surge in mobile shopping and payments on devices that did not exist just a few years ago. Retail is at an inflection point and we are helping to reshape how people around the world shop and pay.”
