eBay Notifications Hub

Overview

Our product team identified a critical gap in customer engagement that directly impacted Gross Merchandise Bought (GMB). We noticed that buyers were missing key updates about their transactions—such as item availability, price drops, and order status—which led to abandoned purchases and lower retention rates.

How We Identified the Gap

Through deep-dive analytics and behavioral tracking, we found a drop in engagement metrics related to high-intent customer actions. Buyers who had shown interest in specific listings were not completing purchases at expected rates. Customer support feedback also indicated frustration around missed alerts for price changes and order updates.

Why This Was a Priority

Among competing initiatives on the roadmap, addressing this engagement gap stood out due to its direct correlation with purchase completion and repeat buyer activity. Improving notification effectiveness meant not only reducing friction in the buying experience but also driving incremental GMB growth. The potential revenue impact, coupled with qualitative feedback from customers, made this an immediate focus.

Validating the Problem

To ensure we were addressing the right problem, we combined data insights with direct customer input:

• Data Analysis: We measured engagement rates on existing notifications, uncovering low open rates and missed interactions at key decision points.

• Customer Interviews: We conducted user research sessions where buyers consistently reported that they either didn’t receive notifications at the right time or were unaware of how to manage them effectively.

• Experimentation: A/B testing variations of notifications revealed that personalized and time-sensitive alerts significantly increased conversions.

By grounding our approach in both quantitative and qualitative insights, we built a more effective Notifications Hub that re-engages buyers at critical moments, ultimately driving higher conversions and strengthening eBay’s marketplace experience.

Product Design Kick-Off

To validate our assumptions, we followed a Lean UX framework:

Understanding the Business & User Problem

• Met with product owners to define goals and KPIs.

• Conducted a competitive analysis and reviewed past data trends.

• Identified pain points in the existing UX.

Forming Our Hypothesis

We structured our hypothesis as follows:

"By improving the visual hierarchy and interaction patterns of key touch-points for the notifications hub, we believe that users will engage more effectively with the experience, leading to higher CTR and an increase in GMB. We will know this is true when we see an 8% increase in CTR and a 10% increase in GMB."

Ideation & Initial Concepts

• We spent the first week of our sprint brainstorming possible design solutions.

• Conducted quick sketching and wireframing to validate concepts.

• Gathered early feedback from stakeholders.