Channeladvisor Same Store Sales (SSS) For April ... - Investing Stocks

Channeladvisor Same Store Sales (SSS) For April 2011

Today we are releasing April data for Marketplaces (eBay/Amazon), Search and Comparison Shopping Engines (CSE) along with supplemental data.

April 2011 results

April was an interesting month with acceleration in marketplaces and a slow down in other channels.  Here are the highlights:

•  Amazon - Amazon came in at  83.8% y/y growth for April a material acceleration.
• eBay -  eBay continued to show strength coming in at 10.9%, their fastest growth on record since we?ve been reporting SSS data. More thoughts on eBay later in the report.
• CSE - Comparison Shopping Engines really showed the full impact of the Panda release in April and were down a whopping 12.34%.  Some individual engines are showing signs of stabilization, but many are still suffering from the release as they see their SEO traffic decline substantially y/y.
• Search - Search also slowed in April, coming in at 12.2%.  The interior numbers are provided below.
• Overall - Overall we see that e-commerce in March came in at 9.3%, a slight increase from the 7.64% in March. Increased fuel prices, rising inflation, UK austerity, etc. are macro pressures continue to weigh on e-commerce.

SSS Chart

The following chart details the SSS data for 2010 through April 2011: (click to enlarge)

Search Details

Search is soft primarily due to softness in conversion rates. CPC costs are on the rise which is also putting pressure on the channel from a retailer?s perspective. With order sup 3% and costs up 27%, the efficacy of the channel is under pressure as we head into Summer.

eBay Observations

 eBay?s > 10% SSS showing is definitely an interesting data point that I thought warranted a bit of a deeper analysis.  Looking at the internal numbers,  there are a couple of trends that stick out:

• Format stabilization ? For a long time, eBay was the combination of auctions with -30% levels of headwinds and fixed price at 20-30% tailwinds, netting out no growth or negative growth.  Looking at April, Auctions are only down 5% and fixed price is up > 15%, plus auctions have become small enough mix-wise (our mix is of auctions is lower than eBays) that their declines are being washed out by fixed-price gains
• P+A is on fire ? eBay Motors parts and accessories business is doing very well and we have a lot of business there.  This segment is up > 15% y/y for us SSS-wise.  I believe that eBay?s improvements to the buying experience with the parts-finder married with seller?s providing ?fitment data? are doing very well in this category.
• Large merchants ? We are starting to annualize the launch of some pretty large merchants that are doing very well on the platform and growing substantially y/y as they hone their eBay selling strategies.   

disclosure: I am long Google and Amazon.  eBay is an investor in ChannelAdvisor where I am CEO.

 

The above story is the opinion of the author only and it does not reflect iStockAnalyst opinion. Further, the author is not personally advising you regarding the suitability of the story for your investment needs. In no event iStockAnalyst will be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from or arising out of, or in connection with the use of this information. Please consult your investment advisor before making any investment decision.

Tags: auctions, author, comparison, details-the-sss, from-or-arising, loss-or-damage, march-increased, perspective, search, search-details, seo, showed-the-full

Source: http://www.theinvestingstock.com/perspective/channeladvisor-same-store-sales-sss-for-april-2011/

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