eBay had a 5.2 percent decline in unique visitors in March 2009 compared to the same month last year, and its page views were down 27 percent, according to data provided by Nielsen. Meanwhile, Amazon.com had a 17 percent increase in unique visitors to its website in March 2009 year-over-year, and page views were up 3.6 percent.

After falling below Amazon.com in number of unique website visitors for three straight months in November, December and January, eBay caught up in February 2009, slightly exceeding its rival. The two marketplaces were neck-and-neck in March, with Amazon leading by a small margin.

In the fourth quarter of 2008, the two companies' traffic trends were reflected in sales. eBay's GMV (excluding vehicles) was down 12 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2008 year-over-year, while Amazon.com's net sales were up 18 percent. eBay reports first quarter 2009 numbers on Wednesday, and Amazon on Thursday.

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