More than half a million iPhones have been sold via the UK online marketplace since they were launched – including brand new and used phones. In the UK last year, an iPhone was sold via eBay UK approximately every two minutes. In Q2 this year, iPhone was searched for over 18 million times across eBay’s European sites alone.
eBay expects the launch of the iPhone 5 to stimulate sales growth in the smartphone market as a whole, not just for the new model. The online marketplace is predicting sales of the existing iPhone 4 model to strengthen, with a surge in the run-up to Christmas. During last year’s festive season, sales of the iPhone 3G exceeded the iPhone 4 as shoppers look for great deals rather than the most up-to-date model.
As more and more consumers own smartphones, eBay continues to see significant growth in sales through its mobile platforms. Mobile sales now account for 10% of all purchases on eBay UK and eBay mobile apps have been downloaded over 47 million times globally.
Angus McCarey, Retail Director for eBay UK said: “Our figures show that savvy shoppers are ready and waiting to get their hands on the iPhone 4 at a cut down price. The UK leads Europe in terms of smartphone adoption, which is helping to drive the triple digit growth of mobile shopping on eBay. Mobile is fundamentally changing retail as shoppers can now browse and shop on and offline in a seamless way.”