eBay have announced plans to expand on their mobile applications and drive customers into stores using their click and collect incentives.

The retailer has introduced services to 'remove the friction' of in-the-flesh transactions by offering customers the opportunity to pay for goods via their phone. An example of this took place at the Mobile World Congress in which eBay encouraged visitors to scan a QR code which let users purchase paella at a food stand. The meal could be paid for using a credit card or PayPal account and allowed people to 'skip the queue'.

Head of mobile Steve Yankovich said: "“We can know when someone is in or near a store and offer them a deal via our relationship with a bricks-and-mortar retailer. By doing this, we go from a multimillion-dollar business to a multitrillion-dollar one.”

Mobile network 3 has also recently agreed to pre-load eBay apps on some of their devices, similar to an existing deal with O2, which would make the aforementioned features readily accessible to new customers.

“It’s important for us to help people realise there is an eBay experience on the phone" stated Yankovich.

VP and general manager for eBay has quoted the retailers research in the neccessity of mobile-optomised websites, commenting that 17% of mobile users will change their purchasing decision when encountering a non-optomised site.

“We want to help businesses, small and large, compete online by using eBay tools to provide a real multichannel experience and mobile is a massive part of that."