eBay eyes more user-friendly website in bid to swell sales

THE world’s largest online auction company, eBay, will upgrade its website to placate sellers and revitalise the company’s slumping sales growth, chief executive officer Meg Whitman said yesterday.

“You’ll see more changes in the next 12 months on our site than you’ve probably seen in the last three or four years. eBay was so successful that we did not keep up with the user experience that was required,” she admitted.

Sellers have complained that eBay allowed the site to become cluttered with too many listings, resulting in fewer sales and driving shoppers to other retailers including Amazon.com. The company adjusted fees to try to increase revenue, which rose in the first quarter at its slowest pace in at least eight years.