Etsy saw a lucky traffic boost from Amazon browsers despite failing to rival Prime Day, marking the largest year-on-year rise amongst retail players like John Lewis, Currys, Screwfix and Boots.
This year saw the US marketplace taking a passive stance to outmanoeuvring the Prime Day competition. Etsy concentrated their attention to wooing shoppers with upgraded search, payment and shipping services on the US marketplace.
Etsy’s counterpart competitor eBay decided to go head-to-head with Amazon by launching their Prime Day equivalent apply named “Crash Sale” which aimed to come to shoppers’ rescue if “if Amazon [website] crashes again.” The “exactly what shoppers want” promotional event saw ecommerce player Target taking a similar move.
As retail businesses took different approaches to fight for shoppers’ wallets, consumers followed a mind of their own to choose a shopping destination.
According to a new analysis by Hitwise, Amazon browsers boosted Etsy’s traffic by 10.5% when compared to last year’s results. That is, shoppers who visited Amazon.co.uk but didn’t make a purchase went on to Etsy.com to look for items they didn’t find on Amazon. The traffic deluge is the biggest riser when comparing to online visitations from Amazon browsers to retailer’s sites including John Lewis, Currys, Screwfix and Boots.
The report suggests that there is a growing demand for artisan, handcrafted and personalised gifts amongst US shoppers which Amazon couldn’t bridge. It attributes this analysis to the proliferation of searches for creative gifts by Amazon browsers on Etsy.com, with top search terms ranging from “crystals,” “birthstones,” teacher gifts,” to more Etsy-specific look-ups such as “Etsy sewing pattern,” “cheap wedding favours,” and “funny aprons.”
