Etsy: The internet shopping trend

By: Alyssa Jones

Are you looking for your next big purchase? Want to find a new and unique holiday gift? Look
no further than your online shopping companion, Etsy. In a world of handmade gifts and special
finds, you’ll find some of the most beautiful jewelry on hand-carved dining room tables. Selling
and buying on Etsy has become a trend among social media; today, we will be checking out why.

Etsy was born in the city of Brooklyn as an artisanal arts and craft online storefront. Created by Rob
Kalin, Chris Maguire and Haim Schoppik in 2005, Etsy was created to give artisans a palace to sell their
goods. Through their first two years of running, Etsy had made over one million sales and had over
450,000 artisans registered. In 2013, after a switch in company leaders, the new CEO Chad Dickerson
acquired Lascaux CO, Which further helped them advertise their artisans’ work. In that same year, Etsy
changed its rules to allow handmade and manufactured items. The new clause created a surplus of sales
and revenue for sellers and the company.

Etsy currently has over 60 million items for sale from their over 2.1 million sellers for their 39.4 billion
buyers to choose from. Etsy sellers come from worldwide, selling and shipping their goods to buyers
across the globe. Etsy makes it easy for buyers to curate their style and collections through your
personalized profile. Etsy then uses its algorithm to curate items that follow the shopper’s trends when a
customer favorites an item. Thus, the algorithm helps buyers find things based on their tastes while also
exposing them to sellers. Shoppers can add these items to their favorites or create different lists based on
articles or occasions.

When shopping on Etsy, customers can search for a product using the search bar and choose from the
drop-down menu highlighting clothing, jewelry, home goods, bath products and wedding supplies. Each
search will come up with thousands of handmade and manufactured items for shoppers to look through.
Reading through the descriptions of items and customer reviews is always an excellent way to choose
between different listings. Using reviews and customer images helps buyers choose between shops and
entities listed. Another reason Etsy has gained such a niche following is due to the fact many shops offer
personalized items. Shop owners will allow you to personalize your items with custom sayings and names
from mugs, jewelry and art prints.

Using Etsy is a trend among many small businesses. Many users across platforms like Tik Tok, Instagram
and Facebook use Etsy to sell their homemade creations. The platform is popular among these young
creators as it offers a wide range of benefits to sellers. They can track sales, communicate with customers
and organize products. Not only is it a cheaper option than buying your domain, but Etsy also allows its
sellers to be in charge of their products and productions. One way that Etsy helps its sellers is by
highlights their artisans on their Instagram page.

Shoppers on Etsy have the tools needed to help support small businesses and share products within the
community. When purchasing on Etsy, you are not only supporting a small business or artisan, but you
are also supporting local communities. In the past few years, Etsy has made promises not only to make an
impact on the economy on a local and global scale; but also make an impact on the environment.

The unique world of Etsy has something for everyone, no matter their shopping needs. Between
personalization and a plethora of shops and categories. Finding one of a kind gift for anyone on your
shopping list is a given. A simple shopping spree will leave you coming back for more not only because
of the great items but also because of the company’s missions.