Research shows that eBay still dominates the Auction category, but other players are gaining ground.
Since the dawn of ecommerce, eBay has ruled the roost for online auctions. While ecommerce has evolved in so many ways over the past several years, as consumers become more and more comfortable purchasing online, the auction marketplace is still dominated by eBay. While eBay still has a firm stranglehold on the category, strong growth over the past year among similar sites suggests that perhaps the market may become more competitive over time.
- In February 2006, 68.4 million people visited auction sites. eBay alone drew 66.6 million of those visitors, accounting for 97 percent of all visitors to the category during February.
- eBay’s top competitors, Bidz.com and uBid.com, have both achieved significant traffic gains over the past year. Bidz.com grew 102 percent to 2.2 million visitors, while uBid.com grew 100 percent to 1.5 million visitors. Might this signal the emergence of some other players in this highly coveted retail space?
- People between the ages of 25 and 34 are 12 percent more likely than average to visit Auction sites, exhibiting the highest relative incidence of any age demographic. Those between the ages of 35 and 44 are 11 percent more likely than the norm to visit the category.
- People in households with incomes of $100,000 or more are eight percent more likely than average to visit Auction sites, consistent with the fact that those with more money engage in more ecommerce.
| Top 10 Auction Sites by Unique Visitor February 2006 vs. February 2005 Total U.S. - Home, Work and University Locations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: comScore Media Metrix | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Demographic Profile Visitors to Auction Sites Category February 2006 Total U.S. - Home, Work, and University Locations | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source: comScore Media Metrix |
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