How Etsy’s Performance in Q3,2020 shapes the Consumer Behavior in Q4.

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2020, has got an unimagined situation, and Covid 19 has reshaped the growth of e-commerce. While the world is still struggling with the aftermath of the pandemic outbreak, online marketplaces have been working as a helping aid for their safety gears to their homely needs and even necessities. Etsy provides you the platform to convert your creativity into a business and meet the buyers for your products. The Etsy Q3 result has announced between the most exciting festive season; Etsy’s performance has outperformed the market yet this year again, unlike any marketplace has ever witnessed before. 

What does the 2020 Q3 Result reveal for Etsy’s Performance?

Etsy has delivered Powerful results during the 3rd quarter, which was announced on 30th September 2020. As per the Consolidated report, GMS Revenue has increased by 119% and 128%, respectively. Etsy has succeeded in retaining the buyers and garnered many new buyers to its platform. Welcoming and supporting small and medium businesses during this challenging time has added feathers to the cap.

As per The Quarter 3 results

• Q3 GSM reported $2.6 Billion, which is 117% up; earlier, it was 2.7 Billion in Q2.
• Net income Status in Q3 is reported as $451 Million; earlier, it was 429 Million in Q2.
• There has been an increase in 15 Million new buyers, making it a total of 69 Million active Buyers now.
• 3.5 Million active sellers have been noticed on the platform, and 80 Million active listings are live on the Etsy marketplace.
• Etsy surpasses the average e-commerce growth rate of 45% in this challenging situation.
• New searches utilize 2X more data per search query, more significant advancement in searches.
• We have Prioritized the most helpful reviews on the platform for better purchase decisions.
• The top-performing categories remained similar to Q2, which were : Homeware and Furnishing(+126%) Jewelry and Accessories(+61%) Craft Supplies(+114%) Apparel(+59%) Beauty and Personal care(+164%)

What was the Pandemic Impact on Etsy Sellers?

As and when the pandemic situation arrived, every eye turned towards the Retailers. They managed the customer’s need as people shifted from brick and mortar shops to online shops. The online sellers on Etsy faced lots of issues at the initial phase, like:

• Fulfilling the flood of orders by buyers seemed to be impossible.
• Disruptions in the supply chains
• Store and warehouses closure
• Lack of raw materials
• People were unable to trust whether the deliveries are safe or not.
• Delay in deliveries due to a lack of workforce.
• Faced with all such issues at the starting of the Pandemic situation, slowly, buyers understood the role of touch-free delivery; there was no option to fulfill their needs.

How Etsy responded to the situation?

What made Etsy win the situation is strategies used to boost sales and retain the sellers and buyers. Spending has remained firm on Etsy as consumers continue to avoid physical stores over safety concerns, increasing its 146% hike in gross merchandise sales in the second quarter.

• Etsy enabled the reviews, making it easy for the buyers to decide on the product before purchase. You can prioritize the most helpful reviews with good text, images, and anything related to targeted listings.
• Earlier you could only add photos and descriptions in product listings, But now you can add videos to explain and display your product. As per September 2020, approximately 1.5 million sellers have uploaded videos.
• Etsy launched tools helping sellers to adjust the processing times, an input for expected delivery dates, based on the historical performance for time to ship. This is to bring transparency to the buying and selling experience.
• With the new Off-site Ads, Etsy has reformed the ETSY Ad Tool. This promotes your products. You pay only when the buyer clicks on the Ad and purchases within 30 days of the Ad. 
• Adding to the seller’s experience, Etsy’s performance has launched graphs in the ads dashboard to make advertising on Etsy as straightforward as possible. These efforts contributed to the 91.4% year-over-year growth of on-site advertising revenue in the third quarter.
• Etsy has come up with Klarna enabling US buyers to make seamless purchases now and make payments in installments. The online payment company will handle the payment collection, but sellers will receive the full amount as soon as they are made.

Etsy extended a helping hand to its sellers.

Some crucial steps were taken to help the sellers particularly vulnerable to the covid-19 downturn. The sum of $5 million has allotted for the marketing spent over a period of a month to drive more traffic to the site. There came the inception of the Off-site Ads, which made it possible for at least 2 million Etsy’s Sellers to advertise on multiple social media and search engine platforms without any upfront payments on Bing, Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook.

Etsy also made an online support team available to give whatever aid they can for managing shipping and delivery. Etsy’s Free shipping guarantee on orders enables an Increase in Sales and motivates shoppers to shop in bulk during these months.

Understanding changing consumer behavior: Best selling items on Etsy 2020

Ever since the Pandemic Impact on Etsy Sellers, they started creating different alternatives from their supplies. Most of the sellers were seen manufacturing and selling face masks. From simple masks to decorative and customized masks. Buyers hush for the masks was observed from Q2 to Q3. The mask’s sales declined from July 2020, with $123 Million to August 2020, with $85 Million and September 2020, with $56 Million. But the craze and need for the item have not yet gone. The number of masks sold in Q3, 2020, is $264 Million in GMS.

As per Josh Silverman, the CEO of Etsy, At the beginning of the pandemic, the Mask’s demand touched the sky overnight on Etsy. They called the sellers and asked them if they had sewing machines and could start making masks and sell on the marketplace. We were Starting from 20,000 sellers making masks to 60,000 sellers selling masks. The “consumer behavior” around the world changed drastically as masks and sanitizers became the topmost priority. A lot of buyers shifted to Etsy. People were buying other things on Etsy that they couldn’t get anywhere else, like garden plants and seeds, sewing materials, and kitchen supplies.
Etsy’s top category of homeware and home furnishing was up +126% compared to a year before. The Craft and supplies sales jumped +114%, and jewelry and accessory sales were also up +61%.

What’s in there for the Holiday Season on Etsy?

The festive season already started, buyers are more into the celebration and shopping mode. This year they are more likely to celebrate at their home and shop online. Etsy has got the golden opportunity to boost sales this festive season.

As per the situation, it is predicted that the most sold items would be

• Home Decor
• Kitchen and Dining
• Clothing

• Jewelry and Accessories
• Prints(in art and collectibles)

The festive season has already started, sellers are ready with promotions and optimization of products on the Etsy Marketplace. Buyers are decorating homes to have festive vibes. They are more likely to have all kitchen and dining equipment and paintings for a home to improve their social life. Who does not want to dress up well when you have celebration time and guests around? Shoppers will love to grab the opportunity to buy clothes and jewelry. The Above mentioned Items are and will be much in demand till the coming months at the starting of 2021. Etsy has planned to increase sales more during the festive season.

Etsy does not want its buyers to compromise with the situation in the Festive season; this time, Etsy sellers are more into creativity and meet demand. It provides you with many creative items such as designed mugs, masks, etc. And items by using which you may create something in your space. This is something interesting, creative, and fun at the festival. Shoppers are more intended to search products for gifting purposes; Etsy offers gift wraps with notes to delight. Apart from this, it provides various offers and discounts to help sellers improve their sales, as the festive season will bring a flood of buyers.

There is more to come on Etsy.

The year does suffer a bad start but opened new possibilities for online sellers to grow even more significant. As shoppers have started preparing early to avoid any delay in deliveries, the festive season is an opportunity for you to sell online and deal with numerous buyers throughout the year.

Etsy has also partnered with big names like Samsung and Klarna to transform the user experience. Quarter 3 turned out to be an excellent success for Etsy, and there is still more to come in Q4 and the much-awaited in 2021. Grow your creative business on Etsy- the seamless way – with us.