eBay brings its online marketplace to Apple Watch
Ecommerce giant eBay sees smartwatches becoming an integral part of our everyday lives, which is why its has come out with Apple Watch app that will provide users quick access to its online market.
TechCrunch reported that the app's main screen has four buttons which corresponds to four different functions that will allow users to bid, sell, track items and will brings important updates to the users. The tracking feature is called "Watching" and the "Activity" feature allows you to keep tabs on your activities on eBay with its 28 interactive notifications.
According to Business Finance News, the app has a simple interface and yet effective when it comes down to providing relevant information to users in a quick and efficient manner. The simplicity of the app comes from the fact that it doesn't use the digital crown, Taptic Engine, or any other features that WatchOS opens up to developers.
The challenge in building an Apple Watch app is in thinking of "10-second experiences", eBay's senior product manager for mobile and wearables, John Tapley told Fast Company.
Currently the app is just a first rough draft, which is why updates will continue over time, Tapley said.
According to eBay, more than half of its customers use eBay from mobile apps.
Two years back eBay introduced smartwatch apps with similar functions for Samsung Galaxy Gear and Pebble. And as Apple smartwatch is expected to become popular it has become important for companies to use this platform to connect to users.
In April, when the Apple Watch went on sale, eBay's major rival Amazon immediately introduced its app, while eBay took its time to coming out with its smartwatch app. This however, may have been eBay's strategy to deliver a fine tuned product for its users.
eBay has also improved its app running on Apple and Google's mobile operating systems, which users will find it to their liking as only items specific to the search will be displayed.
Other retail players on the Apple Watch include Target, Amazon and Fandango.