eBay's traffic for the month of March was at a 6-year low compared to previous March numbers. Data provided by Nielsen show that eBay received 49.6 million unique visitors in March 2010, down over 18% from 61 million in March 2007, the peak year for March data.

eBay CEO John Donahoe initiated a 3-year plan to turnaround the marketplaces business after taking the helm in 2008. But unless sales defy traffic trends, he may have a tough time convincing shareholders that the plan is working when he faces them at the company's annual meeting at the end of the month.

It will be difficult for the CEO to blame the economy. Forrester Research pegged online retail sales as growing 11% in 2009. (It's forecasting similar growth rates for 2010.) And while Nielsen 2-year numbers reveal that eBay's traffic decreased 13% in March 2010 compared to March 2008, Amazon.com's traffic increased 17% for the same period.

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