eBay Inc (EBAY), Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN): Why This E-Commerce Site Is on the Rise

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eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) originally made a name for itself by facilitating online auctions and sales between users.  Now, eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) has expanded its online platforms, tools, and services for the benefit of online merchants and individuals. With the increasing prevalence of e-commerce, the company must continue innovating to sustain its growth.
eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)

Recent Performance

Last quarter, eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) saw revenue rise 14% to $3.9 billion, and earnings per share increase 12% to $0.63. E-commerce volume grew by 21%, making it eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY)’s fastest-growing section. These increases come from the double-digit growth that eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and PayPal had during the second quarter.

Mobile commerce added 3 million customers to the company last quarter, and eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) and PayPal are each expected to have $20 billion in mobile commerce and payment volume by the end of 2013. The eBay mobile app allows customers to buy and sell items from their mobile device, and the company partners with other businesses, which allows the mobile platform to be used for ordering items that span from clothing to lunch. With the increasing popularity of smart phones and e-commerce, this area has a lot of growth potential for eBay.

Recently, eBay revealed that it is expanding its same-day delivery service for buyers and sellers who are in the same market. In the past year, the company has tested the service in San Francisco, San Jose, and New York. The expansion is planned to take place in Brooklyn, Queens, Chicago, and Dallas throughout the summer. To be eligible for the service, customers must make orders of at least $25 and pay a $5 fee. The extra cost will allow customers to receive items from eBay partners such as Target and Best Buy in as little as an hour.  But whether people are willing to pay extra for super speedy deliveries still remains to be seen.

With these improvements and growth of the mobile market, eBay expects that it can increase the commerce it enables from $175 billion in 2012 to $300 billion by 2013. The company takes a percentage of the commerce it enables and will see earnings rise with it.

Competition

eBay’s competition comes from other online companies like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Overstock.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:OSTK).

Much like eBay, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is attempting to succeed in same-day shipping with Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fresh. The service offers quick delivery of groceries and other Amazon items like electronics and books. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Fresh started in Seattle and expanded to Los Angeles this past June.

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