ebay mulls mobile-enabled platform

eBay India, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, is exploring the possibility of introducing mobile enabled e-commerce platform next year as soon as 3G rolled out in the country.

At a press conference in Kolkata, eBay’s marketing director Kashyap Vadapalli said that offering mobile-based eBay service would help mobile users to make financial transactions through their cell phones.

“Moreover, with 3G we will have WAP-based service for the mobile eBay site. We are also exploring the possibility of an application based platform,” informed Vadapalli. “There are some 2-4 million buyers on the internet and the market is about Rs 1,200 crore,” Vadapalli said.

eBay is also offering a segment, 'global easybuy', which offers Indian consumers goods from the US.

Kolkata 7th largest e-commerce hub eBay India announced that Kolkata is the seventh largest e-commerce hub in the country, according to the eBay India Census 2009. In eBay Census 2008, Kolkata had ranked sixth after Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Chennai. The eBay Census Guide documents the key findings and trends in online buying and selling across Indians in the top 100 e-commerce hubs, 28 states and seven Union Territories.

India’s top five e-commerce hubs are Delhi, closely followed by Mumbai, Chennai, Jaipur and Bangalore.

According to eBay, entrepreneurship is the new mantra for India as four out of the six metros – Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata - are all profit buying cities which sold more items on eBay than they bought.

Technology got the lion’s share of Kolkata online shoppers’ wallets at 45 per cent of all transactions. Kolkata entrepreneurs sold the most technology products at 38 per cent of all transactions to buyers in India. Collectibles scored on the exports front at 61 per cent of all transactions.

Women in Kolkata buy the maximum loose diamonds and gemstones as investment in the East. Also, Kolkata, home of magician P C Sorcar, sells the most magic trick collectibles on eBay.