Apparently it’s a real phenomenon: People are actually buying cars on eBay from their smartphones. We think this is either because some people barely use a personal computer at all anymore, or because of competitors wanting to make sure they don’t miss the last five minutes of an auction.
Whatever the case, eBay reports that mobile users bought 2,000 cars and 90,000 car parts per week for the first quarter of 2011, and the mobile market for cars and especially parts is growing at an astronomical rate. To serve this segment of the market, eBay has introduced its new eBay Motors app, a free download for iPhone that lets users buy a car while pretending to pay attention to dinner conversation. And if they do make a car purchase, you can use the app to alert your friends via Twitter and Facebook.
The lesson is clear: You should offer a mobile app if you don’t already. If users will use a smartphone to buy a $200,000 Ferrari—chances are they will do the same for your product or service as well.
Read more at CNET.
