Behind the scenes at eBay’s ‘Social Shopping’ experience in London’s Covent Garden [Video]

Last December, we took a peek behind behind the scenes at eBay UK’s first pop-up shop in London. And this past weekend, the e-commerce powerhouse took to the streets again, this time with eBay Social Shopping, powered entirely by social media.

The initiative laid claim to being the country’s first “interactive, socially-powered shopping experience”, in the heart of London’s Covent Garden. Timed to coincide with the busiest online shopping weekend (pay-day, Christmas etc), the project sought to harness the power of Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in terms of product recommendations, and morph it with eBay’s own search data, serving up a “live pulse” of what the nation wants for Christmas.

“By pairing views of social communities with eBay’s own vast selection of top Christmas gifts and mobile expertise we gave shoppers lots of inspiration and put a little bit of fun into Christmas shopping,” says Carrie Bienkowski, Head of Buyer Experience at eBay.

“Mobile technology is a catalyst for retail growth and is changing the way we shop,” she continues. “Consumers now carry a global showroom in their pocket and are increasingly as inclined to seek recommendations online and shop mobile as visit the high street. At eBay, we expect 2012 to be our most successful mobile Christmas ever with around 30% of the most popular Christmas products being brought through a smartphone.”

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Meanwhile, check out this video that delves behind the scenes at its Covent Garden extravaganza.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMdEk4AbX4g