Marketplace Leaders: Andreas Häntsch - eBay

Andreas Häntsch

eBay Germany, Senior Director Seller Engagement

eBay is one of the world’s leading e-commerce companies. Founded in 1995, the platform initially resembled a consumer-to-consumer marketplace where used items could be traded by private individuals. Nowadays, new goods from commercial sellers make up the majority of the items offered. Therefore, eBay no longer considers itself an online auction house but an online marketplace. Like many others, eBay has been strongly affected by the decline in online trade. After a net annual profit of $13.6 billion in 2021, the company recorded a loss of $1.27 billion in 2022 (with $9.8 billion in revenue).

Andreas Häntsch leads the Seller Engagement division at eBay Germany as Senior Director. As the initiator of programs for eBay sellers like “eBay Deine Stadt” or the “Durchstarter Programm”, he is committed to strengthening trade in Germany. Previously, Andreas was responsible for the Home & Garden category as Director and held eBay leadership positions in Seller Growth Automotive and Consumer Electronics, Shipping and Local, and Enterprise Account Management Europe. The native Berliner now lives with his wife and two children in Potsdam.

eStrategy Consulting advises and supports online retailers and online marketplaces. We have a long-standing relationship with eBay Germany, in which many initiatives and projects have been strategically developed and successfully implemented. Some of these projects can be found here. Our Managing Partner and marketplace expert Thomas Natkowski talks to Andreas Häntsch from eBay about current developments and opportunities in the market.

How have you perceived and managed the market developments, with its ups and downs, over the past three years?

The past three years have been marked by numerous challenges. Disrupted supply chains due to the pandemic and the Suez Canal have led to a lack of product availability. At the same time, demand in certain categories increased, particularly in connection with the energy crisis and renewable energies. Fortunately, eBay is well and flexibly positioned thanks to our business model: we have a kind of “decentralized warehousing”; as a pure marketplace, we can rely on thousands of sellers who offer their goods. This means that there is usually someone somewhere who still has the sought-after goods and offers them with us. Also internationally. An example of many: when all pools were sold out in Germany, Italian sellers stepped in.

How are you experiencing the changes in customer behavior in the midst of inflation, war and, until recently, corona?

We are currently seeing a reluctance to buy in certain categories, such as furniture. In this particular category, this is certainly also due to investments being brought forward during the pandemic as a result of the so-called cocooning effect. At the same time, increasing price sensitivity seems to be playing a role in purchasing decisions – not only in furniture, but also in some other categories.

On the other hand, we are seeing increased demand in certain categories. In the car parts and accessories sector, for example, we are seeing longer vehicle holding times, which is leading to increased demand for spare parts. The DIY (Do It Yourself) trend is also gaining in importance as consumers increasingly want to do things themselves to save on tradesmen’s costs.

It is also interesting to note that brands, especially A-brands, continue to be the focus of consumers during the crisis. However, there is an even greater focus than before on so-called “alternative item conditions”. In other words, used branded goods or refurbished goods are even more in demand. These various developments reflect the diverse influences on buying behavior and we as eBay are prepared to react flexibly to these trends. Our platform offers a wide range of products and conditions to meet the different needs and preferences of our customers.

The competitive situation was also unstable. Many retailers and marketplaces are reaching their limits. How do you perceive this?

Our concentration is clearly on ourselves and we are focusing less on the competition. Nevertheless, we are seeing a certain amount of consolidation in the market, which I believe is due to several factors. One decisive factor is the prioritization of the so-called “hybrid” marketplaces on their own trading business compared to the business of their trading partners. This question does not arise for us, as we do not operate our own trading business. Our priority is always to make our trading partners’ business successful, because ultimately we are only successful if they are.

Operating a marketplace is inherently complex and is becoming increasingly complex, especially in light of increasing regulations. However, we have many years of experience as we have been in business since 1995 and are practically the inventors of the marketplace model. We are used to adapting to increased requirements.

What makes the eBay marketplace so successful?

We always see ourselves as a partner, never as a competitor. Our aim is to offer our trading partners not only a platform, but also greater visibility and more freedom than others. One example of this is that we don’t have a “Buy Box”, which gives our partners more display options on an article page. They also have the opportunity to design individual stores and get in touch with customers directly.

Our platform offers an enormous reach, both nationally and internationally. This opens up a wide range of opportunities for our retail partners to make their products accessible to a broad audience. This combination of greater visibility, freedom in presentation, and vast reach makes us a reliable partner for successful and growing businesses.

What significance do initiatives around refurbished or local retail have in the current crisis in online and offline retail?

We are observing two key trends among consumers. Firstly, the increasing demand for refurbished products. This is the result of a growing awareness of sustainability and price sensitivity due to inflation. eBay is naturally well positioned here and already has a long history in this area. Our cooperation with numerous major brands such as Dyson, which market their “b-goods” via our marketplace, demonstrates our strength in this segment.

Secondly, we are seeing a trend towards sustainability in the sense of supporting “local retailers”. People increasingly want to support community-based exchange. Here, too, eBay is well positioned, for example through initiatives such as “eBay Deine Stadt”. In the fall, we repositioned the “Buy Local” area, and this will also be the focus for 2024. We are ready to continue to actively support these developments and make our contribution to a sustainable and diverse retail platform.

What potential do you currently recognize in the market? Which technologies and trends are important to you? For example, what relevance does AI have for your business model?

Artificial intelligence has already played an important role in our strategic direction for some time, for example in our search algorithms. We are currently intensifying our efforts by introducing more AI functions for our customers. This includes, among other things, the use of AI for automatic offer creation and optimized image representation.

We are investing significant resources to further expand AI capabilities. These investments aim to ensure that our platform always offers innovative and effective AI features that continuously improve the shopping and selling experience for our users. We are determined to fully exploit the potentials of AI and continuously offer our customers innovative solutions.

eStrategy Consulting helps clients to use digital innovations to further develop existing business models and to create new business opportunities. We support the retail industry in its further development towards omnichannel and connected commerce and count manufacturers, classic big box retailers, the retail real estate industry or digital marketplaces and platforms among our clients.

eStrategy Consulting covers the entire lifecycle of digital innovation, from analysis to ideation, solution development and market launch. We work as strategy and concept developers as well as seamlessly integrated and pragmatic implementation managers. To do this, we rely on a mix of methods from the world of digital business and classic management consulting. The focus is both on our client’s applying customers as well as his organization and skills necessary to operate.