• Reuters, Monday, March 3, 2008 11 AM

In an SEC filing last week, online auctioneer eBay revealed that its business faces many challenges in the coming months, including slowing growth in its three largest markets, the U.S., U.K. and Germany. Growth of listings, active users, new users and sales is expected to slow, driven by the weak economic climate in each of three countries. Regardless of a recession, ecommerce growth had been expected to continue its deceleration.

Wall Street analysts expect eBay to earn revenue of $8.7 billion in 2008, a rise of 14 percent over 2007--which is a far cry from rates of 30 and 40 percent in recent years. In its SEC filing, eBay said it needs to find a way to reengage former users, a major concern for many ecommerce companies that face slowing growth. The company also acknowledged that changes to its seller fees and policies did not sit well with many merchants.

"If these changes cause sellers to move their business away from our sites or otherwise fail to improve gross merchandise volume or the number of successful listings, our operating results and profitability will be harmed," eBay said. One of the main problems eBay has as it faces shrinking growth, is competition from big online retailers like Amazon.com.

Read the whole story at Reuters »