(upbeat music)
- Hello. I'm Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy.
Thank you for joining Etsy Up: Holiday Edition.
I'm honored to kick off today's event.
We know that the next few months
are the most important time of year for many of you.
That's why we've dedicated this event
to helping you get set for success
and providing you with updates
on how the entire team at Etsy
is working to support your business this holiday season.
You'll hear directly from industry experts
and connect with fellow sellers
about topics that matter to you as a small business.
Etsy wouldn't be what it is without you.
Everything you do is special.
The items you make and curate,
the one-on-one connections you build with buyers,
everything you do helps Etsy keep commerce human,
and that matters now more than ever.
Because if we look at the broader eCommerce landscape,
things are getting more and more commoditized.
In a sea of sameness, people seek special.
In a world of overwhelming choice,
people wanna be delighted.
And in a world dominated by screens,
people crave connection.
Today, there's an overwhelming number of choices
for where you can shop online, and more open up every day.
But it's really unlikely
that there will always be tens of thousands of places to go.
Why? Because consumer attention is precious.
And we can only remember so many brands.
That's why the world is consolidating down
to just a handful.
And to earn a place as one of those brands,
you have to do something that's different enough,
that's valuable enough, and that matters often enough
to stand out and have buyers keep you top of mind.
I truly believe that, together, we will earn the right
for Etsy and your shops to be among them.
In a world of eCommerce giants,
it's never been harder for small businesses
to compete and stand out.
That's where Etsy comes in.
We're working tirelessly to level the playing field
for creative entrepreneurs like you.
What we've seen with Etsy
is that people care about the brand we're building together.
Collectively, we stand for something important
and offer something truly differentiated.
Millions of people around the world
recognize Etsy as the destination
for where they can go to support small businesses.
And for many, Etsy has also played a role
in the most important moments in their lives
because the items you offer are some of the most unique
and lovingly crafted items anywhere.
We are important enough often enough to be truly remembered.
This is critical for our collective success,
especially as we navigate these trying times.
Things like economic turmoil,
geopolitical issues, and social unrest
ultimately have an impact on how buyers spend their money.
Let's look at an example.
In just the past few years,
the definition of what's essential in our lives has changed.
In early 2020, essential meant masks
and daily necessities to help you make it
through those early days of the lockdown.
Many Etsy sellers stepped up to fill those needs,
and we're particularly proud
that during a time when small businesses
around the world were shuttering at an alarming rate,
Etsy served as an essential platform
for much-needed human connection
and helping sellers have a steady stream of sales from home.
Last year, as lockdowns continued for many,
decorating your home
in a way that brought you joy was essential.
So was sending gifts to loved ones
at a time when visiting in person was harder.
And as we felt the impacts of global supply chain shortages,
Etsy sellers were often able to reliably fulfill orders
and deliver holiday joy,
even when big box stores fell short.
Now, finding meaning is what's becoming essential.
We're all getting out more,
traveling, eating at restaurants,
but at the same time,
there's uncertainty about the future,
and people are having to spend more of their income
on basic needs like gas and groceries.
For many, that means purse strings are tightening,
and people are more choosy about where to spend their money.
So if people are buying less,
they're going to want the things they do purchase
to mean more.
That's where you Etsy sellers shine.
With a hundred million items
made by over 5 million incredible entrepreneurs like you,
there's an Etsy for every occasion.
When you combine that with the human touch
that's built into the Etsy experience,
we're delivering meaning
unlike any other online shopping destination.
And just like you make items especially for your buyers,
Etsy has made our selling platform especially for you.
The three biggest ways are audience, tools, and community.
Let's start with audience.
We believe this is the number one differentiator
and advantage that we offer to you.
When starting an online business,
the barriers to launching your own website
are extremely low.
But what good is the most beautiful site
with the most amazing products
if you don't have people coming to see it?
It's like opening a lemonade stand in the desert.
Driving traffic and getting people to find you
among the millions and millions of other websites that exist
can be overwhelming, time consuming, and extremely costly.
That's where having a shop on Etsy is different.
We've built a huge global audience
of almost 90 million buyers
looking for one-of-a-kind finds just like yours.
In fact, we've more than doubled the number
of active buyers on Etsy over the past three years
and increased overall how frequently they come back.
To give you a sense of scale,
if our buyers and sellers were a country,
they'd be roughly the size
of the western half of the United States
and equivalent to the size of France, Belgium,
and the Netherlands combined.
And if every package shipped last year
included a seller note,
you could wrap those notes fully around the Earth's equator.
We're working hard to continue growing this community
so you have more sales opportunities.
That's why we plan to invest nearly $600 million
in marketing this year alone.
We think we're just scratching the surface
with getting buyers to discover Etsy and keep coming back.
And we've invested heavily in our search and discovery
so that we're getting your items
in front of the right buyers at the right time,
and you're more likely to land that sale.
Next, tools.
Etsy's got your back with simple tools
to help you run your business
and get your products discovered
while also taking care of everything
from payments to marketing.
In the last few months,
we've invested in exciting new programs,
like Purchase Protection for qualifying orders up to $250
if one of your items get lost or damaged in transit
and your buyer requests a refund.
This is fully funded by Etsy
and gives peace of mind to both you and your buyers.
We've also just unveiled the new Etsy Seller app,
designed to make it even easier for you
to run your business on the go.
We've added requested features based on extensive research,
like adding photos and listing videos
directly from your mobile device,
while improving the features you love,
like access to detailed insights
about your shop's performance.
We also offer tons of educational tools and content
to help you run your shops.
But with so much information out there,
we know it's important for you
to be able to find what you need when you need it.
That's why we're in the process
of redesigning the Etsy Seller Handbook,
which is a gateway to our community of spaces, events,
upcoming feature opportunities, and the help center.
We'll launch the new homepage very soon
and roll out even more updates in the months ahead.
At the end of the day,
our goal with all the tools we offer, new and old,
is for them to make it easier, quicker,
and more seamless for you to run your business.
Lastly, let's talk about community.
About four out of five Etsy sellers
are businesses of one person,
but because you're a part of this awesome community,
you don't have to go it alone.
Etsy has a uniquely human approach
where sellers work together to share ideas, provide support,
and celebrate your success as you grow,
just like we're doing here today.
And our teams are always sourcing feedback
from all types of sellers
to help inform how we can do even more even better for you.
A big part of keeping our community thriving
is supporting and protecting you.
We're in the process of growing our support team
by more than 20% this year,
improving live chat support and reducing wait times.
We're also putting dedicated resources towards making sure
that the items on Etsy are within our policies
so that we uphold the integrity of our marketplace.
And I want you to know that we're prepared
to do what it takes to keep Etsy special.
All of these things are even more important
as we head into the holiday shopping season.
Throughout today's sessions,
you'll be learning about things you can do
to make your goods stand out.
Think marketing, social media, and photography.
And there's also a lot that the Etsy team is doing
to help everyone get ready,
like gearing up for Cyber Week.
We'll be promoting our annual Cyber Sales Event
across our channels,
and it's a great moment to get your items
in front of shoppers' radars.
And of course, throughout the holiday season,
we'll be running TV and brand marketing campaigns
so that we're top of mind
when buyers are shopping for their loved ones.
We'll be debuting a brand new ad campaign this fall.
We can't wait for all of you to see it.
And one of the things I'm personally most excited about
is our new Explore feature,
which takes video content you create
and surfaces it to buyers in a fun, engaging way.
Buyers can browse personalized feeds
of seller-created videos full of creative inspiration,
giving you even more ways of getting discovered
by new audiences looking for items like yours.
Buyers tell us they love how Explore
helps them feel more connected to sellers
because you're sharing what makes you
and your items so special.
We'll share more on creating innovative
and engaging social content to promote your Etsy shop
in today's sessions.
The main takeaway I want to leave you with
is that we believe the Etsy community
is positioned for success this holiday season,
even during uncertain times.
My hope for each of you is that this series of workshops
will give you an even sharper edge
heading into such an important time of year.
Thank you again for choosing to sell on Etsy.
Now please enjoy this behind-the-scenes look
at this year's Etsy Design Awards Grand Prize winner.
(gentle music)
- I never really knew what to do when I was at school.
I loved just playing around with different materials
and different colors.
I began by putting together two or three discs
just to make a small wall hanging,
and it just progressed from there.
(gentle upbeat music)
Hi, my name's Tim, and my shop is WeAreLunarium.
I make geometric wall hangings made out of plywood.
We were renovating our own house,
and we needed something for the wall
that was a little bit different,
so I just made something for myself.
And someone was like, "Oh, you should sell it on Etsy."
I was like, "Oh, my God, I should sell it on Etsy
because I love Etsy."
(gentle upbeat music continues)
I just started doing it as like a side business
when I was working in retail.
And then during the pandemic,
I was furloughed for six months,
which gives me more time to produce more
from my small room in my house.
They began very simple,
and I've added different colors and styles and shapes,
and they have grown in scale.
(gentle upbeat music continues)
This studio space was built during lockdown
because we were running out of space in the room.
Luckily, my stepdad is a builder
and my partner's dad is an architect.
We built it the biggest we could in the garden that we had.
Having a nice place to go to every day inspires me
because it's calm and I can be creative.
My process is quite natural, really.
So I just start with pieces,
and I work with what I've got and have to play around.
I enjoy making things look nice.
This chandelier-style one
has got like the metal rings, the ceramic discs.
We added the tassels on
just to make it look a little bit more Bohemian looking.
It's like a bit of everything to create this one piece.
The Etsy Design Awards means quite a lot to me.
And this is one of my best-selling products,
I figure I'm gonna send something that people love already.
I just didn't think that I would hear back.
I thought, "Oh, it's fine. I'll give it a go.
Like, you never know, do you?"
And then I got an email saying, "Oh, you're a finalist."
So I was like, "Oh, my God,
is this like a fake email?" (laughs)
- [Dayna] Hello?
- [Tim] Hello.
- Hi, Tim. How you doing?
- I'm good. How are you?
- I'm good.
I need to tell you that you're the 2022 Grand Prize winner
of the Etsy Design Award. (cheers)
- No, I'm not.
- [Dayna] Yes, you are.
- I don't think it's sunk in yet that I've actually won.
I was, like, shocked. I didn't know what to say.
I guess it's just the validation
of someone saying your work is good.
You know, it makes me feel really proud of what I've done.
Being now a Design Award winner, that's really weird to me,
because I've never really thought myself as a designer,
but if I can do it, anyone can do it.
I just enjoy the evolution of what I've been making,
so I can see what it's come from
and I'm just excited to see what it could be.
(upbeat music)