Online Innovations Continue To Drive Results At Sotheby's

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Dec 20, 2018, 11:59 ET

NEW YORK, Dec. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Online Buyers Spend $200 Million at Sotheby's in 2018,
Up 14% from Prior Year

Online buyers spent $200 million at Sotheby’s in 2018 - a 14% increase from prior year - including Joan Mitchell’s Untitled canvas from 1964 that sold in May for $2.5 million.

26% of All Lots Sold at Sotheby's in 2018 Are Purchased Online

Record Number of New Bidders at Sotheby's in 2018
60% Come Through Online Channels

Video Views More than Double in 2018 – 26 Million To-Date –
Sotheby's Video Team Wins Prestigious Webby, Cannes Corporate & Lovie Awards

WATCH: 2018 at Sotheby's – A Look Back

Sotheby's Gains 1 Million New Social Media Followers in 2018

New Ecommerce Platform Drives $50.7 Million in Online-Only Sales
Nearly Triple 2017 Total

Half of All Clients Using New Ecommerce Platform
Bid Via a Mobile Device
* 2.5 Times Industry Average *

1,200+ Items Consigned Through New Online Estimate Tool,
Including $45 Million in Sales in 2018

Sotheby's Ends 2018 With Record Website Traffic in
September, October & November

Sotheby's Launches 'Artist Pages' for 155 of the Most-Searched-For Artists
*Featuring Sotheby's Mei Moses Data & Insights*

"We have assembled a world class team across different platforms and services at Sotheby's (NYSE: BID) that has generated phenomenal growth in 2018, including increased audience, a great customer experience, incremental consignments, and, most importantly, increased revenue," commented David Goodman, Executive Vice President, Digital Development & Marketing Worldwide for Sotheby's. "We look forward to continuing to drive these initiatives and innovations in 2019."

TOP LOT SOLD TO AN ONLINE BUYER IN A LIVE AUCTION:
Joan Mitchell, Untitled, executed circa 1964
New York, Contemporary Art Day Sale, May 17, 2018
Sold: $2.5 Million (est. $1.8/2.5 million)

TOP LOT SOLD IN AN ONLINE-ONLY AUCTION:
A Highly Important Collection of 139 Poems by John Donne, circa 1630
London, English Literature, History, Science & Illustrations Online, December 10, 2018
Sold: £475,000 (est. £200/300,000)

HIGHEST GROSSING ONLINE-ONLY AUCTION:
Fine Books and Manuscripts Including Americana Online
New York, June 28, 2018
Total: $3.3 Million

ONLINE-ONLY SALE THAT EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS BY THE LARGEST MARGIN
Lady Blue Eyes: Property of Barbara and Frank Sinatra Online
New York, December 7, 2018
Total: $1.5 Million (est. $208/316,000)
Four Times the High Estimate

HIGHEST VALUE LOT CONSIGNED THROUGH THE ONLINE ESTIMATE TOOL:
An Exceptionally Rare and Important Blue and White Ewer, Xuande Mark and Period
New York, Ming: Luminous Dawn of Empire, March 20, 2018
Sold: $3.1 Million (est. $600/800,000)

TOP SOCIAL MEDIA POST:
Banksy's 'Love is in the Bin'
Instagram, October 11, 2018
57,000 likes, 2,200 comments

TOP 20 MOST POPULAR STORIES ON SOTHEBYS.COM:
Featuring: Nobel Prize-Winning Physicist, Richard Feynman; Nelson & Happy Rockefeller; a Record-Breaking Ferrari; Robin Williams, Hermès; Marie Antoinette's historic jewels; a Nazi-looted Old Master painting returned to its 97-year-old rightful heir; and more.

About Sotheby's
Sotheby's has been uniting collectors with world-class works of art since 1744. Sotheby's became the first international auction house when it expanded from London to New York (1955), the first to conduct sales in Hong Kong (1973), India (1992) and France (2001), and the first international fine art auction house in China (2012). Today, Sotheby's presents auctions in 10 different salesrooms, including New York, London, Hong Kong and Paris, and Sotheby's BidNow program allows visitors to view all auctions live online and place bids from anywhere in the world. Sotheby's offers collectors the resources of Sotheby's Financial Services, the world's only full-service art financing company, as well as the collection, artist, estate & foundation advisory services of its subsidiary, Art Agency, Partners. Sotheby's presents private sale opportunities in more than 70 categories, including S|2, the gallery arm of Sotheby's Global Fine Art Division, and three retail businesses: Sotheby's Wine, Sotheby's Diamonds, and Sotheby's Home, the online marketplace for interior design. Sotheby's has a global network of 80 offices in 40 countries and is the oldest company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (BID).

Images are available upon request
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