eBay Tests Curated Finds In Stores, Helping Buyers Discover More Items That Fit Their Interests
eBay is testing adding automated Curated Finds to Stores to help buyers discover more items that fit their specific interests and shopping trends, but will sellers pushback on intrusion into the Store pages they pay monthly subscription fees for?
The new feature was spotted this week by eBay community member WastingTime101.
Stores: Curated finds for you (New Feature)
Spotted a new feature added to Stores. I haven't tested yet to see if this happens with non-stores.
View at least 2 items from a seller, then visit their Store page, and at the top (below the banner & navigation, above seller's customized storefront like featured categories, etc, eBay is adding their own row of listings.
System pulls out items related to what you viewed and sticks them in that row so buyers see more items in line with what they were viewing.
The feature appears to be either a test or a phased roll out as some users are seeing it while others aren't - but this is what it looks like for those who are currently seeing it: eBay has inserted a row of items at the top that automatically populates with items it thinks that specific buyer might be interested in based on their previous browsing and purchase history.
While this new Curated Finds For You section currently appears to contain only organic placements of items from this actual seller (no Sponsored labels), some sellers in the community expressed concern that eBay may decide to use this spot to insert other seller's items and/or Promoted Listings ads at some point in the future - especially considering the changes to ad attribution policies coming to the US early next year.
On the one hand, I can see this being a good thing. On the other hand, I can see this being the first step in ebay putting rows of OTHER sellers' merchandise in our store fronts ----which, let's face it, are pretty much the last place left without ads.
I had hoped ebay would treat our store fronts as sort of sacred in that regard, but ..... as I say...I wouldn't be surprised to discover this is the first step. And nor would I be surprised if ebay added ads to our stores in Q4....
I'm probably overreacting, but with the recent change to ad attribution, nothing would surprise me very much anymore....
To be clear, eBay has not provided any information to sellers about this test and has not stated whether they will or will not consider using that section for ads and/or other seller's items at any point in the future, but it's understandable why seller's would think that is a possibility.
Back in 2021, sellers noticed that Promoted Listings ads were suddenly being shown in their Store pages and after massive outcry, eBay eventually said it was a "bug" that had been fixed - but many sellers were skeptical and believed eBay may have been testing the waters, only to retreat under pressure using a supposed "bug" as an excuse.
Liz Morton
It also wouldn't be the first time eBay took control over seller's Store pages to test new functionality, in 2022 eBay tested automatically adding Featured Categories to stores without seller permission, only eventually giving sellers the option whether to use the new feature or not after the test was completed.
Liz Morton
Historically, sellers have been extremely resistant to eBay exerting control over Store pages (especially to change the design or add items/modules automatically without seller approval).
Since they are paying eBay anywhere from ~$4.95 to $2,999,95 per month in subscription fees, sellers often believe Store pages should be a space that belongs completely to them where no Promoted Listings ads or other seller's items should ever be shown.
But as eBay has consolidated internal teams for Ads and Stores (along with Shipping, Payments and Business Seller Growth) into a broader Services umbrella aimed at monetization of the platform and is increasingly looking to Amazon for ads strategy inspiration, the idea of Stores being ad fee spaces could be on its way out.
Liz Morton
We've already seen how eBay is willing to erode the buyer experience by stuffing ads into saved Watch Lists, post-purchase pop ups, purchase history pages, so it would not be a stretch to imagine they would also love to insert them in Store pages if they think they can get away with it.
Liz Morton
And speaking of buyer experience, even if this new Curated Finds For You feature only ever shows organic placements of items from the specific Store you are viewing, some buyers may not appreciate having their browsing and purchase history used to algorithmically suggest other items for them.
One commenter in the eBay community said:
omg noooo...I get so tired of search engine algorithms being tweaked to show me what some think tank THOUGHT I wanted to see!
I hate seeing crap in my search results that I looked at days ago.
It's like salesman shadowing. Hate it, why, I either already bought it or I've moved on and it's often completely irrelevant too.Just let me do my searching, unmolested, please! Showing me MORE crap for sale does NOT make me want to buy MORE!
Another seller also pointed out that the feature will be almost useless for those who buy and sell from the same account as often their searching and browsing history might be more about doing research for items they are going to list for sale rather than items they are interested in buying.
I’ve noticed it! I will post new items and research both new and sold listings, so now my curated feed is full of items similar to what I’m selling.
Not very useful, since I’m not even interested in the things I’m researching other than pricing my own similar items.
And as sellers have pointed out with other recent undisclosed testing eBay is doing, even when the feature or design update might ultimately be positive or beneficial, it's frustrating and not ideal to have things changing with no notice during the all important Q4 holiday shopping season.
Liz Morton
What do you think of eBay testing a Curated Finds For You feature for Stores? Let us know in the comments below!
