Coronavirus Has Given eBay A New Shot At Being More Relevant. Can It Deliver?

Coronavirus Has Given eBay A New Shot At Being More Relevant. Can It Deliver?

Coronavirus has given Ebay a rare growth bright spot with increased online shopping. (Photo ... [+] Illustration by Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)





SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images





Coronavirus has spelled the bankruptcies and even the end for many struggling companies, but it's given a new window of opportunity for eBay in its continued fight against larger rival Amazon. 



 Second-quarter gross merchandise value, or GMV, sold on eBay platforms worldwide rose 29% to $27.1 billion, the San Jose, California company said late Tuesday. The growth rate, the best eBay has seen in 15 years, followed at least five quarters of either flat or declining rates. In the U.S., GMV surged 35% last quarter after at least five straight decreases. 



Active buyers rose 5%, or 8 million, to 182 million. That increase was more than what eBay was able to add in more than the last six quarters combined, eBay's newly- minted CEO Jamie Iannone said on a conference call. Iannone, a former company executive who re-joined as CEO in April, most recently served as Walmart eCommerce's chief operating officer. He had also served as CEO of SamsClub.com, the online arm of Walmart's wholesale membership club.