Industry report

Etsy Statistics, Users, Usage, Demographics (2021 Report)

Etsy has been growing exponentially over the last few years, with lots of ups and downs. By far, Etsy is one of the best online stores where you can open a craft business store with much ease without needing to develop a website or e-commerce store. It offers a simple process, and within an hour, you are ready with your store, which gives access to millions of online shoppers all over the world.

Active sellers on Etsy

Now we have learned about the number of active buyers in Etsy, so naturally, there must be ample sellers to meet the needs of these buyers.

  • As per the available data, it had only 830,000 sellers in 2012.
  • In 2013 it soon became 1 million. The trust in the platform is evident in the sharp increase in the total number of sellers.
  • The number of sellers in 2014 was 1.3 million.
  • 2015 it touched 1.5 million. The rise in the number of sellers has also been remarkably consistent.
  • In 2016 they rose to 1.7 million.
  • 2017 stood at 1.9 million.
  • The number of active seller’s number crossed the 2 million mark in 2018 and reached 2.5 million in 2019.

Active sellerbuyers on Etsy

If we look at the data for the last seven years, you will notice that there has been a sharp increase in the number of buyers on Etsy.

  • In the year 2012, the number was 9.3 million.
  • 14 million buyers in 2013.
  • The following year it went up to 19.8 million in 2014.
  • In the year 2015, it became 24 million. 
  • It had a steady growth during the next year as well; in 2016, it was 28.5 million.
  • This rise has been consistent, and the numbers have been growing and come up to 33.6 million in 2017
  • 39.4  million active buyers in the year 2018.
  • As per the 2019 financial reports, the quart 3 active buyers rose to 44.20 million, which is 19% more on a YoY scale.

Etsy demographics

The sellers can classify on various parameters as below:

  • Gender equality: Women are no less than men when they get a chance to do business within the comfort of their home. As many as 86% of Etsy sellers are women. They are comfortable in delivering the best products within a safe environment, and it is evident in their products and their presentations.
  • Different countries: Etsy has an extensive demographic and territorial representation. You can find sellers from more than 83 countries. The comfort of selling online has removed the regional barriers, and the buyer doesn’t need to have a visa for shopping online. You can simply visit the site and check the catalog for finalizing a purchase.
  • Age of seller: The average age of the seller is around 39 years. It means the sellers are generally young.
  • Educated sellers: About 56% of sellers are graduate, which adds up the comfort of closing a transaction relatively easy.
  • Household income: The average household income of an Etsy seller is about US$ 56,180.
  • Place of living: Around 39% of the sellers live in rural areas and have easy access to the buyers living in metro cities too. The sellers do not have to run around to sell their products.
  • Independent sellers: About 51% of Etsy sellers depend only on Etsy sales as they have no other source of income.
  • Repeat buyers: As much as 81% purchase is made by repeat buyers. They are those who have purchased once or more times earlier as well and come back to buy again.
  • Mobile visits: 67% of the visits are by smartphones. People prefer to close a purchase transaction by using their smartphone than using a laptop or desktop. The trust is enough to allow them to do the shopping while moving around anywhere.
  • Sales outside the US: About 34% of buyers are non-US clients. The figures are quite expressive to understand the reach of Etsy on various parts of the globe.
  • GMS: More than half; that is, 55% of the gross sales happen through mobile devices.

What is the gross sale of Etsy?

The gross sales have been shooting upwards, showing healthy growth in the business. The statistics provided above are a clear indication of how the business grows all over the world. In the year 2012, the sales figure was in millions, $895million. The next year it went to billions, $1.35 billion in 2013. The following year it went on to become $1.93 billion. It soon crossed the mark of 2 billion and reached $2.39 billion in 2015. In 2016 it became $2.84 billion.

The rise was consistent and went on to become $3.25 billion in 2017. The 2018 data was even better and very promising for the year ahead while comparing it on a YoY basis.  The 2018 sales figure touched at $3.93 billion. By the 3rd quarter of 2019, Etsy had comfortably reached US$ $197.9 billion.

Revenue earned by Etsy

After studying the sales growth pattern of Etsy, it is easy to say that the profits of Etsy have also been on the rise. Since the revenue of Etsy is a part of the sales here are the figures for revenue of Etsy made from the sales each year. A significant rise in revenue could find after the year 2012 when the number was $74 million. In the following year, it quickly crossed the $100 million mark and reached $125 million. In the year 2014, it was $195 million. In 2015 its revenue crossed $200 million marks and settled at $273 million. The rise has been consistent, and it went on to $365 million in 2016. In 2017 it was recorded to be $441 million, and the recorded value was $604 million in 2018.

Benefits for sellers on Etsy

Around 13% of sellers have been loyal to Etsy for more than 4 years. Etsy has helped about 95% of its sellers to run a shop from the comfort of their home. They do not need to spend on shops to display their products for sale. The targets are easy to meet on Etsy, and the profits are good. No need for extra staff for store or delivery staff required to complete a sales transaction. 90% of the sellers aspire to increase their sales while being live on Etsy board.

Etsy sales are extra income for many

You will be amazed to know that 79% of the sellers now on Etsy had come onboard with the urge to display their creativity to the world. They got a chance to share their ideas in the form of products. The sale on Etsy is not the only source of income for many, but around 65% of sellers have used Etsy to enhance their income. 92% of buyers have a feeling that they can find such products on the Etsy, which are not available in the open market.

Additional services used by sellers

Just selling products online is not the only service you can avail on Etsy.  You can find many third-party apps on Etsy. The number of Etsy App downloads had reached 31.8 million by the year 2016. The sellers using at least one additional service from Etsy is around 48.1%. Out of the total sellers, 16.7% use promoted listing facility to enhance their sales and get to the top of the search list. In 2016, 40.2% of sellers used direct checkout facilities, and 23.9% of sellers from the US and Canada have used shipping labels.

Different aspects of sales

43.2% of sellers use the Sales on App as a medium for selling their products. Repeat customer sales are one of the dominant revenue factors for Etsy. In the year 2015, Etsy could generate around 81% sales through repeat customers only. Before 2014, repeat customer sales were about 78%.

A more in-depth look into the Etsy Gross Merchandise Sale (GMS) figures

Before we analyze the GMS of Etsy, let us have some understanding of GMS. It is the dollar value of sold items within a specific period for calculating the data, which exempt shipping fee, and refunds due to order cancellation/rejection. So, the GMS figure will not show all these charges in the revenue statement. Therefore, GMS stands as the real-time sales volume of the seller. The GMS can consider as an effective tool to understand the health of the company ecosystem and the growth pattern of any business.

Let us study the Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) growth pattern of Etsy in detail. For a better understanding of the growth pattern of Etsy, we need to check the GMS figures for three consecutive years. It will project the trajectory of growth.

In the 1st quarter of 2016, the GMS was $630 million, followed by $669.7 million in the second quarter. In the third quarter, it was $677.2 million and concluded for the year at $865.2 million in the fourth quarter. In the year 2017, the first quarter was $719 million, followed by $748 million in the second quarter. The figures were $766 million in the third quarter and finally touched $1 billion marks in the fourth quarter. In the year 2018, GMS recorded stood at $861 million, and it reached $902 million after that.

In the 1st quart of 2019, the GMS touched at $1,024.03 million, and in the 2nd quarter, it was $1,094.83 million. Towards the 3rd quarter, the registered GMS stood at $1,100 million, which is 19% more than the previous year on a scale of YoY. The increase in GMS from 2017 to 2018 was 21%.

A more in-depth look into the Etsy Revenue figures

Now let us check the revenue figures of Etsy.  In the third quarter of 2015, Etsy had revenue of $65.7 million. The fourth-quarter number was $88 million. In the next year, the income in the first quarter was $81.85 million and rose to $85.35 million in the second quarter. The third-quarter revenue was $87.5 million, while the 2016 fourth quarter finished by touching the 100 million mark at 110.4 million. In the first quarter of 2017, the revenue was $96.9 million and went on to become $101.7 million in the second quarter. In the third quarter, the income was $106 million. The year 2017 concluded with revenue being $136 million in the fourth quarter. The year 2018 began with revenue at $120.9 million in the first quarter and followed by $ 132 million in the second quarter. The value of the third quarter of 2018 was $150 million. The last update available suggests that Etsy’s revenue in the third quarter of 2019 was $181 million.

How well is Etsy doing?

We can get to know how well a website is doing by the number of visits and messages, etc. So now we will take a look at these numbers. While the number of messages shared on Etsy in 2014 was 216 million, the number rose to 234 million in 2015. So we can see the usage of Etsy has increased in terms of messages. Another figure that showcases is the growth of Etsy’s global presence. Etsy has a robust annual transaction presence in about 200 countries.  The entire transaction process is under the control of 789 employees, and out of that 53.9% are female employees. The search pages of Etsy had 4.3 billion viewership in 2014 while it rose to 5 billion in 2015. For better business direct checkout in 12 currencies for 36 countries.

So why should one use Etsy?

There are a few benefits reaped from using Etsy. They are as follows:

  • Etsy allows new artisans and non-professionals to make a debut on their site. You don’t need to be an existing brand to come on board of Etsy.
  • It allows the ease to work from home, without setting up any office or workshop separately.
  • A few artisans get their products selected to display at art galleries and museums as a debut. It is clear that not just by the medium of sales but with the appreciation too, the artisans get recognized.
  • It is cheaper to do business on Etsy than open a store and do business as the fee is very competent to the market trend. If you are new, then the budget is always an issue. So, Etsy is an excellent option to start an online store for newbies.
  • It is effortless to use the website. Everything is very systematic.
  • You can easily find local products and contact the local artisans.
  • You can find products that are rare in the open market on Etsy. Thanks to the hassle-free interface.
  • The communities are forums on Etsy, for making it a better place to work each day and interact with fellow traders to overcome issues or better business understanding.

How can you work on Etsy to sell your products?

There are a few tips we would like to suggest to you so that the views on Etsy turn into real sales numbers for you. The tips will help you to increase your sales and profits. All the figures may not be relevant to you as a person who wants to sell products on Etsy. So, the numbers that matter are mentioned below:

  • The number of shop views: This is the number of persons who view your shop and not just see the products. Actually, one single buyer can view multiple products, so keep a count on the persons who view your products and not products viewed daily.
  • Views to sales: You must concentrate on the number of views that actually result in a fruitful purchase. In the end, what matters is a successful transaction, giving you profits. Try to keep up with the trends and tastes of people. With time, demand keeps changing, so matching the pace of changes, which will help you lead the market. Also, keep adding new things now and then. Stagnation is never good for business.
  • Email subscribers: You must look forward to people subscribing to you as an email. You can update them with new products or some schemes that you are willing to offer.

Anyone looking forward to doing business online must take the example of Etsy. If you are a potential online seller, then you must get connected with Etsy for enormous profits as they cater to a large market not limited to any single country. And if you are someone looking for a unique gift or any item, then also Etsy is the website for you.

Source links:

70 Amazing Etsy Stats and Facts (2020) | By the Numbers

https://www.statista.com/topics/2501/etsy/

https://www.similarweb.com/website/etsy.com#search

https://www.marketplacepulse.com/stats/etsy

http://www.morgannield.com/blog/2017/3/28/the-3-statistics-that-actually-matter-to-your-etsy-shop

Etsy sellers tend to be young, female and educated

https://www.statista.com/statistics/409407/etsy-quarterly-revenue/

https://woosuite.com/stats/online-shopping/

Researched by Brian and SaaS Scout team
Researched by Brian and SaaS Scout team

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