eBay has today launched ts first UK concept store located in Wolverhampton. The store will offer forty small businesses from the local area the chance to showcase and sell their products for a month. The concept store will also act as a retail experiment for eBay and the participating businesses, using QR codes for purchases and tracking the number of sales and traffic metrics. It is designed to provide an opportunity to better understand the interaction between physical and online retail and explore the valuable role physical stores can play in driving separate, online sales. 

The new space has been designed with the theme ‘Home Grown by Wolverhampton’. A place where botanical garden meets first-class retail space, it stands as a physical symbol of the important role that homegrown businesses play in their communities. The space aims to celebrate eBay’s work to help Wolverhampton’s businesses evolve for the 21st Century, showing how online and offline retail can co-exist and work in harmony. 

The selection of businesses featured will change each week and will include businesses such as Tony’s Deli (a local deli selling his food hampers online), HomeSmart Blinds (a Wolverhampton based window blind supplier) and White B Gifts (a business selling illustrations inspired by local history).