eBay Bets Big On Barcodes To Win Back Google

In an effort to gain ground to win over Google’s search, eBay is turning to one old-school retail item that’s full of data: barcodes.

As reported by Bloomberg, eBay’s latest efforts in the barcode business involve relying on the data that comes with its products that can be easily tracked in its inventory using barcodes that can swiftly get data from merchants into its database.

EBay’s latest plan to win back Google enables those merchants to scan the barcode using a smartphone to get all the data entered into the system. EBay then will read the data that was entered and can better list it in the category it belongs. That, in turn, might be able to help add some organization to the vast amount of items in eBay’s marketplace.

This plan was initially started in June and is known as eBay’s “structured data initiative,” in order to bring shoppers a better online catalog that has stronger search capabilities, such as price, features and what condition the product is in. It also helps bring attention to customer review and product images — two other features that can help boost eBay’s search engine presence.

But will it work? Only time will tell.

“This, in and of itself, doesn’t solve eBay’s major problem,” Steve Weinstein, an analyst at research firm ITG, told Bloomberg. “The major problem is answering, ‘Why should shoppers go to eBay instead of anywhere else?’ I don’t think they have a good answer to that.”

Still, CEO Devin Wenig said that eBay must focus on rebuilding search and gaining back market share that it’s lost to Amazon. Since spinning off PayPal, eBay has reportedly lost around one-fifth of its value. We’ll know when eBay reports its earnings next quarter just how much the initiative is paying off.

But, for now, it’s all about gaining ground on Amazon.

“EBay really wants to get out of the shadows of Amazon,” Quick Ship Electronics CEO Jordan Insley told Bloomberg. “By taking control of their data, they might be able to do it.”