There were 1.4 million transactions on eBay.com on Cyber Monday (November 30, 2009). The company said the 1 million transactions on eBay.com on Black Friday (November 27, 2009) was an increase over 2008, but won't say by how much, nor has it revealed gross merchandise volume for the long holiday weekend. Of the 1 million transactions, 1 percent were for Zhu Zhu pets and related items.

Last year, eBay heavily relied on Bing Cashback and coupons. Collins Stewart analyst Sandeep Aggarwal noted in a report published Tuesday (pdf format) that eBay is less aggressive with Bing Cashback program this year and also pulled down the double discounts for merchants offering free shipping.

While eBay is offering promotions to buyers through its eBay Bucks loyalty program (still in beta), it appears to be more limited than last year's profusion of generous coupons. Instead, it has put its marketing dollars into advertising this year.

PayPal, meanwhile, was quick to publish press releases trumpeting year-over-year growth:

• PayPal experienced a 25 percent year-over-year increase in total payment volume on Thanksgiving Day 2009
• PayPal experienced a 20 percent year-over-year increase in U.S. total payment volume on Black Friday 2009
• PayPal experienced an almost 20 percent year-over-year increase in total payment volume on Cyber Monday 2009
• Mobile payments through PayPal jumped 140 percent on Black Friday and 190 percent on Cyber Monday compared to that of an average Friday and Monday respectively

Here's what eBay did reveal about holiday shopping in addition to number of transactions:

• Some of the most popular gifts purchased include Zhu Zhu pets, Xbox 360, iPod Touch, Nintendo Wii.
• On Black Friday, approximately 10,000 Zhu Zhu pets and related items were sold on eBay; approximately 30,000 were sold on eBay on Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.
• Big ticket items included a $200,000 Mercedes Benz, bought through an auction on Black Friday.
• Prairie Grove, AR, with a population of just 2,540, bought more items on eBay than any other U.S. ZIP code on Cyber Monday.
• Communities in California, North Carolina, and New York made the most sales on eBay on Black Friday and Cyber Monday (El Monte, Aliso Viejo, and Walnut, California; Matthews, North Carolina; and Brooklyn, New York).

As for mobile, eBay said on Tuesday afternoon that users of its new Deals app, released just prior to Black Friday, have refreshed the application nearly 50,000 times since November 21, and over 33,000 news deals searches have been created.

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