eBay is inventing a new way of shopping just at the beginning of the holiday season. On December 1, the online auction house will open a pop-up Christmas Boutique in London’s West End (34 Dean Street, London, W1D 4PR). The new shop will allow people to avoid tills, queues, and stress that normally accompany a holiday season.
Photo: Holiday season on eBay, a snapshor from eBay.com
What’s so special about it? Being an online shopping centre, eBay brings together to ways of making purchases—both real and virtual. The eBay Christmas boutique will be the UK’s first ever store where the Quick Response (QR) code will be accepted. Consumers will be able to come and shop using mobile technology in one location.
eBay’s store will feature its best-selling products which can be perfect Christmas gifts including a ride-on Dalek and a party dress from House of Fraser as well as many other top items in three sections: for him, for her and for family, all with up to 70% off.
To buy something, shoppers will have to scan the QR code with their smartphone. Purchased items will be delivered to owner a few days later. There will also be a separate area with a selection of tablet computers with which shoppers can browse eBay’s website. eBay predicts that about 5.8 million shoppers are expected to log on to eBay.co.uk to shop in the first week-end of December.
The store is open from December 1 to 5—the busiest online shopping weekend this year. Sales are forecast to peak at over 30 gifts every second, nearly double the 16 gifts per second bought last year via online and mobile platforms while up to 120 gifts will be bought via a smartphone every minute, says Fashion Insight. eBay will also conduct prize draws where visitors will have a chance to win a wide range of prizes.
Interiors and experiential elements of the shop are designed by consultancy Push UK which is a part of eBay’s communications company Shine.
In addition, on December 1, Timberland will auction its limited edition Earthkeepers footwear designed by Ringo Starr on eBay.
