eBay has generated $400 million in business revenue since the debut of the auctioneer’s iPhone app.
eBay president and CEO John Donahoe told a conference in Las Vegas that mobile is one of the key areas that the company is focusing on as devices increasingly impact the way that consumers shop.
Donahoe said that the iPhone and BlackBerry devices are already changing consumers’ shopping habits, and recommended that retailers change and evolve if they want to compete.
He cited the purchase of a $350,000 Lamborghini via the iPhone app last week. “Consumers are bidding via mobile, browsing products and eBay’s mobile sales volume is growing in the double digits every month. I know this will be an important device for e-commerce,” Donahoe said.
To help facilitate further modes of micro online payments eBay is launching its first developer conference, opening up eBay and its subsidiary PayPal platform for developers.
“People are just not comfortable providing their credit card information over the internet,” Donahoe said. “Online payments are a bit different, as it is a major friction point for online retail. The online payments world will soon mirror the offline. It is all about convenience and speed and mobile payments and micro payments will help bring that 5%-10 %.”
Donahoe also confirmed that the deal to sell a majority interest in Skype will go ahead despite the litigation that has since emerged.
Skype is currently embroiled in lawsuits in the UK and the US over rights regarding the use to its technology and its original founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis.