eBay Now, Other Specialised eBay Apps Discontinued

After the selling of its enterprise unit to Permira Consortium earlier this month, eBay on Monday announced that it would be shutting down some of its services in order to 'simplify' the e-commerce experience.

The highlight of the announcement was the retirement of eBay Now same-day shipping service in the US. "While we saw encouraging results with the eBay Now service, we always intended it as a pilot, and we are now exploring delivery and pick-up/drop-off programs that are relevant to many more of our 25 million sellers, and that cover a wider variety of inventory that consumers tell us they want," the company post added. The firm however, will continue with the service in the UK.

eBay added that it is now retiring some of its vertical mobile apps and would be integrating the functions inside the flagship eBay app. Some of the apps that would be soon discontinued and will be shifted in the flagship app are eBay Valet, Fashion, and Motors. While the eBay Valet and eBay Fashion apps will be killed within next few weeks, eBay Motors would be decommissioned later this year.

"As an early leader in mobile commerce we have created significant business value and insights from these special-purpose apps. Over the years we have integrated many of the insights, learnings, and functionality into our core mobile experiences. Our objective is simple: give our customers the easiest way to experience the best that eBay has to offer," said the e-commerce company.

eBay earlier this month sold its enterprise business to a consortium led by private equity firm Permira for $925 million (roughly Rs. 5,870 crores), as it streamlines its operations ahead of the separation from PayPal.