The Challenge

Over time, eBay had seen a steady decline of activity from their top buyers. Our challenge was to re-engage these buyers and stem the decline, including buying and visits to the site. Baked into the challenge was the knowledge that top buyers are already receiving multiple forms of communication from eBay on a regular basis, so their guard was up.

The Solution

We developed targeted, personalized communications that would first engage top buyers and drive them to engage with the eBay site. The first part of the equation was an in-the-mail catalog with personalized messaging for each top buyer. Within the messaging we referred to top buyers by their username and invited them to visit a personalized URL. The PURL had personalized content and live auctions in categories of interest to the buyer. Since a top buyer finds it hard to resist placing a bid (and winning!), visiting the PURL drove immediate engagement and purchases.

The Result

eBay saw increased revenue from the best and most active buyers, and recent buyers showed a propensity to become engaged. Of those who visited the PURL, over half went on to make a bid or a purchase.