eBay’s mobile sales continued to grow during the holiday shopping season, according to a release issued by the company today. eBay is reporting that gross merchandise value (also known as GMV, the total sales dollar value for merchandise sold through eBay) was up 166 percent to $230 million from Nov. 25 to Dec. 25 from the same period last year.

      In the U.S., sales from eBay’s mobile apps grew 134 percent over the same period last year, generating nearly $100 million in GMV.

      In terms of yearly stats, eBay says that designer handbags, diamond jewelry and Rolex watches topped this year’s most expensive holiday purchases.

      In the U.S., the top five categories ranked by the number of items sold through eBay’s mobile apps for the year were: clothing shoes & accessories; cell phones & PDAs; collectibles; jewelry & watches; and toys & hobbies.

      In terms of gadgets, the consumer electronics category saw its peak in mobile sales after the release of the iPad and iPhone 4. In the U.S., cars & trucks ranked in the top five categories in every state except Hawaii, and auto parts was a top five category in all 50 states. Other categories that were shopped through eBay mobile in nearly every state were clothing & accessories (49 states) and sporting goods (47 states).

      It’s no secret that eBay has been making a big push to launch and promote its new mobile offerings in time for the holiday season. And as more consumers look to their mobile phones as a way to search and shop for products, eBay is gaining more traffic to its apps.

      eBay’s primary iPhone app has seen over 13 million downloads, and its suite of apps have been downloaded 30 million times.

Source from TechCrunch