O2 to put eBay apps and links on all UK phones

O2 have announced at MWC that they will be adding pre-loaded eBay apps and links to eBay on all of their phones.

eBay and O2’s parent company Telefonica have agreed to add eBay apps and links to most smart phones and feature phones sold by the company via its O2 brand in the UK.

This is the first mobile pre-load deal agreed by eBay anywhere in the world, and the first time Telefonica has selected an app to make available to its O2 smart and feature phone customers across the board. O2 customers in the UK will be the first to benefit from the arrangement, but eBay’s mobile shopping experience is expected to roll out to other Telefonica markets worldwide.

Starting later this year the eBay mobile app icon or a link to the eBay mobile site will appear on either the home page or two subsequent pages of most Android, Windows Phone 7, Symbian, RIM and bada devices sold by O2 in the UK over the next two years. The company will work with device manufacturers to pre-install the application.

In the announcement eBay also give away some startling mobile facts. The UK has been the fastest adopter of m-commerce, with more Brits shopping through the eBay app than anywhere else in Europe. At the height of the holiday shopping season in December, 10% of eBay UK’s entire sales volume was transacted through mobile. eBay’s mobile app is also one of the most popular shopping destinations for O2’s customers who are already responsible for a significant proportion of eBay’s UK mobile traffic. eBay is a leader in m-commerce, having generated nearly $2bn of mobile sales in 2010, which is expected to double to $4bn in 2011.

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