eBay’s first-ever UK high street concept store has helped businesses taking part in its Retail Revival scheme reach £4 million in sales since September 2018.
The partnership with the City of Wolverhampton is helping small retailers grow their businesses both online and offline, with 64 local businesses increasing year-on-year sales by 40% since the programme’s launch last September.
The concept store, located in the heart of Wolverhampton, offered participating SMEs the opportunity to showcase and sell their products for a month. Figures reveal that sales for the businesses taking part more than doubled during the opening of the pop-up store. Sales were also boosted during May by a 20% discount coupon for selected Wolverhampton-based sellers.
The pop up, themed ‘Home Grown by Wolverhampton’, also featured training seminars for local businesses as well as free educational events by local sellers including a make-up tutorial from Second Glace Cosmetics and a Reptile ‘meet and greet’ by pet store HugglePets.
Following the launch of the concept store, Wolverhampton City Council had a spike in market interest for the previously unoccupied retail space, which has now been re-let to a local business.
eBay has also announced that it is sending two of the Wolverhampton businesses to Las Vegas to attend its fourth annual eBay Open event next month. Vintage book trader Pat Austin (WVP Books and Vintage) and fashion business owner Vita Kreslina (All Happy Customers) have both been selected to attend the high-profile conference after sharing their personal business stories with an independent judging panel. The global event is the cornerstone of the eBay calendar, featuring Ted Talk-style keynote speeches, first-class networking opportunities and knowledge-building workshops for thousands of sellers.
