We know that marketplace Etsy has been going through a period of transformation, and considering it had its first $1bn quarter at the end of 2017, it could be that the changes are paying off for the business itself and Etsy sellers too. But it is still early days.
The stock price has enjoyed a boost and the press is taking a keen interest in Etsy again. And this latest Q&A interview with CEO Josh Silverman is a case in point of how they are getting more coverage.
In particular, Silverman talks about how Etsy is striving to be different from Amazon with an emphasis on being special and interesting. And at the heart of that are Etsy sellers. He says that there are 1.9 million in totally and astonishingly 87% are women.
Etsy is the place you go when you want something to feel or be special. There are times when you want to buy something that has a story, that’s personalized or customized to you, when you have a real interaction with the person who made it. I think that the opportunity for it is greater that ever, more relevant than ever. The world has becomes more commoditized. So in 2018 we need to make substantial progress on making it even more obvious, all the moments when you can inject special into your life.
– Josh Silverman, CEO Etsy
It’s often said that Etsy is more interesting and exciting than other marketplaces and it makes a great deal of sense for Silverman and the Etsy team to seek differentiation from Amazon. It’s a very different beast, not least because it can never run on a catalogue basis owing to the nature of the stock Etsy sellers trade. But the astonishing skew to female sellers is notable and definitely something they can emphasise to further establish their forward looking reputation.
