EBay forecasts quarterly revenue below expectations on weak demand

 E-commerce firm eBay forecast first-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, signaling weak demand for products such as collector’s items and refurbished goods, sending its shares down 7% in extended trading.

High interest rates and persistent inflation have hampered U.S. consumer spending for two years, leading to sluggish demand for non-essential items such as collectibles and luxury accessories.

The e-commerce company has been pressurized by decreasing advertising revenue and faces intense competition from Amazon, opens new tab and China’s Alibaba Group, opens new tab, the B2B online marketplace.

The elimination of selling fees for consumer-to-consumer sellers for all items excluding cars sold domestically in the UK is also expected to pressure eBay’s take rate, which is how much money a business makes from a transaction.

The company expects revenue in the range of $2.52 billion to $2.56 billion for the first quarter, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $2.59 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.

EBay expects gross merchandise volume, a key industry metric that denotes the total value of goods and services sold on the marketplace, between $18.3 billion and $18.6 billion for the quarter, below estimates of $18.8 billion.

Revenue for the fourth quarter ended December 31 was $2.58 billion, compared to analysts’ average estimate of $2.57 billion according to data compiled by LSEG.