eBay said it is working with designers, brands, and retailers "to bring an incredible selection of authentic merchandise to the world's largest online marketplace at compelling price points typically found in bricks and mortar outlet centers."
The eBay Fashion Outlet will be housed in a hub with all of the participating brands and will have its own experience. Shoppers will be able to shop across brands (via "Browse by Brand" box). Via the fashion outlet search results pages, you will be shop across merchandise categories.
Consumer will still be able to search for brands in the main search box even if they are not searching in the outlet hub, according to an eBay spokesperson.
eBay said the outlets would offer a differentiated shopping experience leveraging eBay Creative Director Andrea Linett's trend expertise and personal shopping guidance to editorialize and evolve the consumer experience.
eBay's spokesperson explained that within the Outlet environment, there will be editorial curation similar to how eBay currently editorializes its Fashion homepage. "We are making sure to feature the brands who are on board and offer styling inspiration and tips through our creative director, Andrea Linett."
eBay pitched large brands on the outlets, telling them they could use eBay Outlets to drive incremental sales and extend their reach to outlet shoppers.
The eBay Fashion Outlet will feature both women and men's merchandise, including apparel, handbags, denim and shoes, with a target audience of 25-44 year old female shopping enthusiasts.
eBay launched its UK fashion Outlet in April 2010, which now hosts over 30 high street brands, including Superdry, Ted Baker, Karen Millen, L.K. Bennett, House of Fraser, Schuh, Dune, Office and Kookai. eBay Germany has 26 branded apparel shops featuring merchandise of nearly 120 brands, including Eastpak, Fila, Speedo and Triumph.
