eBay Embraces Democratic Discounting

It is perhaps unsurprising given the fact that it is an election year that there is something of a popular obsession with choice and voting of late. It is an easy enough bandwagon to jump on at present.

But team eBay has found a rather novel way to connect it to their efforts at connecting with consumers over the long, hot and often dry summer retail season.

eBay, for lack of a better description, is turning over mobile discounting to the popular vote.

The company’s “Summer of Choice” promotion is a pretty elementally simple concept: Consumers will be given a chance to vote on what products they can buy and at what discount then can buy them for, provided they are shopping on mobile, of course, since this is a mobile-only promotion. The promotion starts Friday (June 24) and will allow customers to go to the internet’s favorite ballot box, Twitter.

First up in the eBay retail elections will be a Char-Broil Classic Grill at 70 percent off vs. a Nutri Ninja Auto-iQ Blender at 50 percent off. Polls will be open for three days, and whichever item wins the heads-up vote will be on display and available for purchase for 48 hours.

All of this fun, gamified commerce goes along nicely with eBay’s latest app update. It also doesn’t hurt that it backs right up into Amazon Prime Day, which is on the calendar for mid-July.

“We know that Americans from coast to coast want choice – the right items at the right price – along with a quick and simple shopping experience,” said Hal Lawton, senior VP of eBay North America. “Our new mobile app offers the most seamless way to browse and buy millions of items. And, all summer long, eBay is letting shoppers decide the deals that are right for them – delivering in-demand merchandise at extraordinary value, directly to their fingertips.”