"Want people to realise you don't need to be a big brand to sell globally.": Pavan Ponnappa, eBay

On the sidelines of the new campaign launch, Ponnappa discusses e-commerce, cross border trade and the platform itself.

eBay is a US-based company that entered India in 2005. Like many other e-commerce brands, it has also chosen to highlight the sellers on its platform in a new ad campaign. It showcases entrepreneurs who use the platform to reach out to customers in different countries.

The campaign is eBay’s attempt to push cross-border trade, i.e., Indian sellers selling their products in different parts of the world. The US is the largest buyer market for the business to consumer (B2C) model. The other major markets include the UK, Australia, Germany and Canada.

On the sidelines of the campaign launch, we spoke to Pavan Ponnappa, head of categories and marketing, eBay, about e-commerce, cross-border trade and the platform itself. Here are edited excerpts from the conversation:

As an ecosystem, India has a different maturity level, as compared to some developed countries. Indian entrepreneurs create a lot of products that are extremely relevant in the global markets today.The challenge, though, is that the businesses are still trying to understand cross-border trade – they are not used to it.

Typically, in India, we're all used to the fixed price format. The auction-based format works well for certain categories that are unique on eBay. For example, collectibles like art or limited edition products.

We also export a lot of jewellery – both costly and inexpensive ones. There is a lot of opportunity for B2C transactions in jewellery. We also look at product lines like home decor and home linen, something we manufacture quite a lot in India. Handcrafted and Ayurvedic products are also popular.

Globally, automobile parts are a huge category on eBay. India is beginning to see huge growth in OEM partners, who manufacture auto parts and spares.

For eBay, every market is different. If I look at the US, the evolution curve has been very different. There has been a lot of C2C as well as B2C transactions. If you look at markets like, say, the UK, Australia or Germany, B2C is definitely the predominant model.

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Cross-border trade is pretty big, but still nascent in India. We want people to realise that you don't really need to be a big brand, to be able to sell globally. We want to highlight the fact that no matter whether you're a small or big business, the opportunity is massive.

There are great stories about how Indian sellers have been resilient and grown their businesses, even in these tough times. We've been discussing with our agency, which is Clevertize, for quite some time about how to get Indian businesses, whether it is an MSME or a B2C brand, on board.

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In terms of building trust, one of the key elements that we try to highlight, both to the buyers and the sellers, is the importance of all metrics related to the post-transaction experience. Whether it's with respect to how quickly your product will be delivered to you, or the feedback.

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In the US, the customers have watches, and sneakers above $100, which are authenticated for genuineness. Feedback about a seller helps build trust about the authenticity of a product.

When things normalised, we got our sellers back on the platform and started selling aggressively. That led to a strong business rebound in the last two quarters of 2020. And that continued into 2021 as well.

As far as cross-border trade goes, there was a massive spike for Indian sellers. The buyers were largely buying the products online. It meant that the opportunity for Indian sellers to sell their products increased multifold.

There has been a strong rebound over the last 3-5 months. I think that the businesses have also understood the importance of e-commerce and ensuring continuity.