Oslo, 29 April 2020: Adevinta is a global online classifieds specialist, operating digital marketplaces in 16 countries. The company provides technology-based services to connect buyers with sellers and facilitate transactions, from job offers to real estate, cars, consumer goods and more.
In response to the coronavirus crisis, our marketplace brands have quickly implemented solidarity initiatives to support our local communities, and below is an update on additional initiatives introduced in the past weeks.
Commenting on the reasons behind these solidarity initiatives, Renaud Bruyeron, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Adevinta says: “All of our markets and activities have been impacted by this crisis. As a result, our users and customers have been facing some serious challenges, and our marketplaces have adapted through their agility and technology to offer the right support and help them navigate through these difficult times.”
Updates on Adevinta marketplaces’ solidarity initiatives
In France, #1 marketplace leboncoin is helping small businesses and using the hashtag #tousmobilise (excluding food retailers) to survive the lockdown by offering free, no-strings-attached virtual storefronts on the site.
In Spain, the top jobs site InfoJobs is helping jobseekers find recruitment processes which can be completed exclusively online. The site improved the visibility of active job ads by adding a “COVID-19: Online process” field to listings, and held a webinar to educate recruiters on how to recruit online.
Fotocasa launched the microsite “Responding Together to Covid-19” to support the Real Estate sector, which has been severely impacted by the crisis. The site aims to provide useful information, including guides, infographics, articles, interviews with clients, live webinars, and an online academy to manage leads from home. More than 10,000 customers have attended the webinars.
In Italy, InfoJobs launched a new digital service to support users during the Covid-19 pandemic, offering to candidates the unique opportunity to have a “free 30 minutes consultancy on their CV’s” by IJ Lab – the new Business Unit composed of 14 HR professionals. Taking care of candidates and companies is the priority set by InfoJobs Italy, with a continuous plan of cross-functional initiatives offering high-value contents and insights to “be ready for the re-start”, while internally moving forward in InfoJobs and Subito cross-pollination.
In the meantime, a mixed Sales and Hr task force has been set to deliver 1to1 training to all customers, focused on optimizing recruiting and employer branding campaigns during and after COVID-19 hiring trends.
Subito launched their “Virtual support services”’ project, which allows users to post free services they can offer remotely. Using the #aiutodacasa hashtag, users can run virtual yoga sessions, join a book club, teach foreign languages, offer or receive help with homework, or just serve as a friendly voice during the quarantine. Subito provides added visibility, boosting all #aiutodacasa offerings for a week at no charge.
In the UK, Shpock has partnered with Parcel2Go to offer contact-free, door-to-door deliveries – allowing people to keep buying and selling second-hand items from the safety of their home. Thanks to this measure, Shpock users can still safely buy and sell popular items like clothes, games, and electronics, while Shpock covers the additional charges to help with contact-free door-to-door delivery.
In Austria, willhaben launched a “Shipping instead of hand-to-hand” campaign. They have been posting online ads to remind users to use shipping companies to buy and sell items over willhaben’s platform instead of meeting in person. When shipping isn’t possible, willhaben gives suggestions on how to handle the transaction in the safest possible way. As a result, the marketplace increased all the visits, leads and new ads. The top sales have been entertainment devices, with high demand for gaming consoles, followed by puzzles, board games, and learning games.
In Belarus, Kufar organised “Project JYAKU!,” an art charity auction to raise money for health workers. The auction brought together 104 Belarusian contemporary artists and raised around €14,000, with the highest bid placed at €950 for the work “Madame Bonjour” by artist Ruslan Vashkevich. Winning bidders were able to support the health charity organization of their choice via the fundraising platform MolaMola.
Concludes Renaud Bruyeron: “As an international family of local brands, we’re proud to see the support that our marketplaces are providing to local communities during the coronavirus crisis. We believe that our digital technology can serve people and businesses to stay connected and keep doing business during this time of confinement.”