eBay Lets Customers Pick Their Deals On Thanksgiving With 'Wishbone' Promotion

Breaking turkey wishbones has long been a holiday tradition - and now online merchant eBay is putting a new spin on this by letting shoppers vote to break open and unlock holiday deals. This Thanksgiving beginning at 4 p.m. EST until 10 p.m. EST, competing deals will be featured on eBay on two sides of the 'wishbone' and shoppers can vote on their preferred deal. The deal that receives the most votes over the course of an hour will be released to shoppers in a limited quantity.

The countdown to unlock holiday savings is already ticking on eBay, with items that will be featured as part of eBay's Wishbone promotion already featured, as well. The Wishbone Deal schedule is as follows:

1. 4pm ET: KitchenAid Artisan Series Tilt-Head Stand Mixer (37% off) vs KitchenAid Digital Display 4-Slice Toaster (33% off) - winner unlocks at 4:59pm ET
2. 5pm ET: Monster High Monster Maker toy (44% off) vs FisherPrice Imaginext Monster University Scare Factory toy (38% off) - winner unlocks at 5:59pm ET
3. 6pm ET: GoPro Hero4 (25% off) 4 vs Apple Watch 38mm Stainless Steel Case (18% off) - winner unlocks at 6:59pm ET
4. 7pm ET: Prada Sunglasses (53% off) vs Bell & Ross Airspeed Watch (60% off) - winner unlocks at 7:59pm ET
5. 8pm ET: - Nyne TT Bluetooth Speaker (53% off) vs Phiaton MS530 On-Ear Headphones (71% off)winner unlocks at 8:59pm ET
6. 9pm ET: - NutriNinja Blender Duo (28% off) vs Hamilton Beach Coffeemaker and Can opener (31% off) winner unlocks at 9:59pm ET

Allowing customers to help determine the deals offered this season adds a new twist to holiday shopping. Hal Lawton, Senior Vice President and Head of North America for eBay, believes this is just what the doctor ordered - welcoming customers to pick their preferred deals while also easing the chaos of Black Friday.

eBay’s Wish Bigger Wishbone digital shopping event puts a new, crowd-sourced spin on getting in demand holiday gifts. We wanted shoppers to be able to skip the chaos of Black Friday, and have earlier access to the deals they are wishing for the most,” shares Lawton.

With a reported 60% of Americans having participated in the tradition of breaking the turkey wishbone - according to the eBay and TNS 2015 Holiday Survey - this new promotion from eBay may just create new traditions from holiday shoppers. After all, who doesn't like picking their preferred deals? It will be interesting to see what items come out ahead, although a recent holiday 'heat' map gives us some direction as to what consumers want most this holiday season.

Most Wanted 

The Sony Play Station 4 is one of the most in-demand gifts across the country, with eBay having already released their best deal for this over this past weekend. Walmart and Best Buy are suppose to be releasing deals on this in-demand item by Thanksgiving or Black Friday, as well, making sure to fall into the 'Cyber 5' craze of consumer shopping. Cyber 5 - which takes place beginning on Thanksgiving and concluding on Cyber Monday (the Monday following Thanksgiving) is expected to gain even more attention from mobile shoppers than in years past, with a reported 48% of 16 to 24 year-olds intending to shop via a mobile device, and 49% of 25 to 34 year-olds doing the same. Meanwhile, Amazon has taken a head start to Cyber 5 by having already launched their Eight Days of Holiday Deals - which you can learn more about here. 

For those shoppers not interested in being a part of helping to determine deals or even searching for the best deals available, a new app from IBM offers a personal shopper in your pocket - so to speak. Watson, as this app is known, helps consumers make their holiday season easier by offering customers daily feeds about what products are trending, where to find them and more. As IBM explains it, Watson "can intelligently analyze millions of conversations across social networks, blogs, forums, comments, ratings, and reviews. Watson interprets language with all of the nuance of a human being—including content, context, and sentiment—at a volume that humans cannot."[/entity]

From consumer picking their deals to an app helping customers identify the best trends and places to shop to the popular #OptOutside message, this holiday shopping season is sure to go down in history as one like never before.