eBay has acquired the platform and personnel from the Gifts Project, an Israeli social commerce venture that lets groups of friends come together to purchase a particular present.
“The Gifts Project has been powering eBay’s version of the concept called Group Gifts for almost a year,” repots Tricia Duryee of the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D blog. “Going forward, the Gifts Project will become eBay’s Israel Social Center, which will focus on building social shopping platforms and product features for eBay Marketplaces.”
The Tel Aviv-based organization is funded by angel investors and Gemini Israel Fund and Index Ventures. The Gifts Project’s staff will stay on with the company.
Duryee writes that eBay up to this point has barely dipped its toe in the pool of social commerce opportunities, but that now, the company is preparing to dive in.
“Besides group gift-buying, eBay has been developing ways for a consumer to log in to his or her Facebook account on eBay’s homepage and get product recommendations based on past purchasing habits,” she explains. “Another feature expected to launch sometime this year will allow users to post multiple products to their Facebook pages, to get their friends to vote on which item they should buy.”
eBay’s other recent acquisitions include mobile payments provider Zong and Where, a mobile advertising firm.
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Related: Will Zong Make eBay the Future of Retail Commerce?
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