Online store owners and eBay sellers often attribute slowing sales to a change in the market or on eBay, a change in the Best Match algorithm, category structure or something else on the eBay platform.
Hardly ever do sellers suspect a competitor or that actually, their product range is losing appeal or is losing price competitiveness.
Don’t leave it to guesswork. Here are some tips on how to use ShelfTrend to narrow down the potential causes for your sales drop and get you on your way for a faster recovery of sales.
Are you being found on eBay?
If you are not appearing in the top 100 search results, it is likely that buyers are not considering your products as they do not even know it is out there.
To be included in search results, you must be using the most popular and relevant keywords. Then, to rank high in those search results, you need to have completed item specifics and perform comparatively better than other listings across a multitude of factors including buyer demand signals, your seller standards score and whether your listing is presenting well and at the best price.
To find out where you sit in eBay’s search rank, run a Top 500 Live Listings Report using the search terms most often used by buyers, or search by sub-category. Filter on the top 50 results to see the other keyword used by those ranked higher than yourself. Download the report to see their item specifics.
Are you competitively priced?
Despite what many think, eBay buyers will buy higher-priced products. However, when evaluating comparable products, then price can certainly become a factor in their purchase decision.
Compare your products to those similar to yours that are ranked higher in search results. Is there a competitor with a better offer – either by price, quality, trust or bundle?
The Top 500 Live Listings Report includes the price offered for a listing, as well as their rank. Filter on the top 50 results to see the price range offered by top-ranking listings. Check to see if your products are within that price range.
Is your product missing certain product features?
While a product category may be popular, it is likely that there are multiple variations of it. For example, a baby cap can vary in colour, material and decoration. Have buyers turned their attention towards new or different product features that your product does not have?
Are your listings presented well?
As more large retailers and businesses join eBay, the high quality of photographs and listings is becoming the norm. Compared to those ranked above you, is something about your listing or reputation that is putting off the buyer?
Has a new competitor entered the market?
When sales have suddenly slumped, often it is due to a new competitor entering the market with a slightly more enticing offer. Keep an eye on the New Listings Report, which shows all of the new listings added to the site within the last 24 hours to 7 days and can be summarised by seller, so that you can see and respond to these threats before they get traction in the search results.
Is the market slowing?
Perhaps the whole market is slowing, and it’s not just you? Create a Top 500 Live Listings Report and use the Scheduling function to automatically run the same report every week. The change in the lifetime sales data for each listing is the amount that they have sold over that 7 day period. Track it for a month or two to see if sales for top listings are flat, growing or declining. Look at the listings that have increased in sales - what are they doing that is different?
Another way of assessing market slow down is to schedule to run an Average Weekly Sales Report on a weekly basis. At the top of the report, in the Summary Boxes, compare how the Total Average #sold/week and the Total Average $/week changes over time. This will tell you if sales are slowing or not.
Sale slow downs can be worrying times for your business so it is good to have marketplace level data points to assess whether it is really a change in consumer behaviour or if you’re being left behind by the competition.