As Black Friday and Cyber Monday approach in 2025, eBay is rolling out significant policy adjustments aimed at high-volume sellers, including tweaks to listing limits and promotional tools. These changes, revealed during a November 16 sellers forum, are designed to handle the surge in traffic during Cyber Week, which runs from December 1 to December 7, according to Awareness Days. Sellers reported a 15% uplift in traffic from AI-driven recommendations, prompting urgent calls for mobile optimization to capitalize on the holiday rush.

The forum, highlighted in a summary by Value Added Resource, underscored eBay’s strategy to empower sellers amid record-breaking online sales projections. With Adobe forecasting a 520% explosion in AI-driven shopping traffic for Black Friday 2025, as noted in posts on X, eBay’s updates align with broader industry trends where AI tools are dominating deals and boosting consumer spending by up to 30%, per WebProNews.

Policy Tweaks for High-Volume Sellers

eBay’s adjustments to listing limits are particularly beneficial for high-volume sellers, allowing them to expand inventories without hitting previous caps during peak periods. This comes as sellers prepare for Black Friday on November 28 and Cyber Monday on December 1, with promotions intensifying through early November, according to the Cross-Border E-commerce Magazine. The changes aim to prevent bottlenecks that plagued past holiday seasons, enabling smoother operations for those handling thousands of listings.

Promotional tools are also getting an overhaul, with enhanced features for targeted deals and bundle offers. Sellers at the forum praised these updates for integrating seamlessly with eBay’s AI recommendations, which have already shown a 15% traffic boost. As one X post from e-commerce expert Pietro Montaldo emphasized, AI agents could lead to a 20x increase in LLM-driven traffic during Cyber Week, drawing from Adobe, Salesforce, and Shopify forecasts.

AI Recommendations Driving Traffic Uplift

AI is at the heart of eBay’s 2025 strategy, with recommendations powering personalized shopping experiences. Sellers reported a consistent 15% uplift in traffic, aligning with industry data from Exploding Topics, which credits AI for contributing to $60 billion in Cyber Week sales last year. This technology helps surface relevant listings to buyers, especially on mobile devices, where traffic is expected to dominate.

For high-volume sellers, AI tools mean better visibility without additional ad spend. A post on X from eComEngine noted a 62% surge in review volume during Cyber Week, urging automation to leverage positive feedback. eBay’s forum feedback indicates these AI enhancements are crucial for competing against platforms like Amazon, where similar strategies boosted profits, as detailed in Seller Labs.

Mobile Optimization Urgency for Cyber Week

With mobile devices projected to carry more revenue than desktops this Black Friday, eBay sellers are urged to prioritize optimization. The forum’s discussions, per Value Added Resource, highlighted the need for responsive listings and fast-loading pages, echoing a 2020 X post from Addy Osmani about eBay’s performance optimizations that increased Add to Cart counts by 0.5% per 100ms improvement.

Industry insiders on X, such as Samuel Hess, shared CRO strategies for Black Friday, including header and navigation tweaks to enhance mobile experiences. This aligns with eDesk‘s cheat sheet, which recommends AI tools and mobile tips for boosting sales, as shoppers increasingly treat Black Friday as a month-long event.

Strategies from Multi-Platform Playbooks

Drawing from broader marketplace strategies, eBay sellers can learn from playbooks like those in CedCommerce, which emphasize inventory management and multi-channel selling for BFCM. For eBay specifically, the policy tweaks support high-volume operations, allowing sellers to scale promotions across platforms like TikTok Shop.

An X post from Paul Goodman detailed creating dual killer promos for BFCM, achieving $18 million in four days by framing offers effectively. This resonates with eBay’s updated promo tools, which facilitate site-wide discounts and exclusive early access, as suggested in a post by Mohammed Sakhi for November 20-23 VIP sales.

Adapting to Consumer Behavior Shifts

Consumer behavior is evolving, with 54% using AI tools for deals—a 23% rise year-over-year, per WebProNews. eBay’s changes address this by enhancing AI recommendations, helping sellers reach tech-savvy Gen Z shoppers. The platform’s focus on mobile aligns with stats from a 2018 X post by Natalie Dillon, noting 49% of Black Friday traffic from smartphones.

For Cyber Monday capping off the week on December 1, as expanded by COMC Blog, eBay sellers are advised to extend deals through December 7. This strategy, combined with policy tweaks, positions high-volume sellers for maximum ROI, per Sellbrite.

Leveraging Reviews and Social Proof

Post-sale engagement is key, with eComEngine’s X post highlighting the importance of automating review requests amid a 62% surge. eBay’s forum urged integrating this with AI tools to build trust, essential for repeat business during extended Cyber Week promotions.

Insights from SellerSnap on preparation and execution emphasize social proof, which eBay sellers can amplify through optimized listings. As rubenpnf noted on X, winning BFCM isn’t just about discounts but offer engineering, a tactic enhanced by eBay’s new promo tools.

Forecasting Record-Breaking Sales

Projections for 2025 indicate Black Friday hitting $10.8 billion and Cyber Monday $13.3 billion, per Pietro Montaldo’s X post citing Adobe data. eBay’s policy adjustments for high-volume sellers are timely, enabling them to capture a larger share through AI and mobile focus.

Finally, as Greg Isenberg’s X post on offer psychology suggests, framing matters more than discounts. For eBay insiders, combining these with the November 16 forum’s insights could lead to unprecedented traffic and sales uplift this Cyber Week.