Etsy Case Study

All about Etsy

Etsy is an online marketplace

Inspired by craft fairs where sellers display and sell their homemade items, sellers can create a personal storefront where they list their goods for a fee per item. Most goods are handmade, but sellers can also list used or vintage items.
As of December 2021, Etsy had over 120 million items listed, and connected 7.5 million sellers with 96.3 million buyers.

Etsy has an e-commerce site and an app for mobile devices

Etsy’s main buyer demographic is females ages 18 – 40. Many sellers are also in this demographic, and the business is a popular choice for creators starting their first online store because it’s a simpler option and provides a wider audience.

The Problem

Because Etsy operates as an online marketplace, similar to Amazon, the individual sellers – each with their own brand identity and personality – can get lost as simply another “listing”, potentially causing a disconnect between the seller and buyer.

How can Etsy increase the connection between sellers and buyers?

The Solution

To bridge more of a connection between the seller and buyer, the designers would like to introduce livestream shopping to the app. This may also have the bonus effect of increasing downloads of the app, to have access to and use this feature.
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This method of shopping is based off of the “see-now-want-now mentality” and is gaining more popularity because of apps like Tik-Tok. Etsy would like to draw users away from Tik-Tok and purchase through their marketplace instead.

Having a more sophisticated way of connecting sellers and buyers through a live shopping experience/feature may draw more users, increase downloads, and utilize Etsy’s app more fully!

Why Livestream Shopping? (aka Live selling)

Adding a livestream shopping feature to the app allows the business owners to connect to current and potential customers, promoting their products and allowing easy shopping for customers, being able to see the products and add them to their cart and buy quickly.Shoppers can see if the business goes live on the homepage or explore page. The page will showcase different businesses currently live streaming, as suggestions based on users’ activity (favorites, searches, and other interaction). Explore page may also suggest businesses the user might like, with categories (“personalized jewelry,” “shoes,” “home décor,” etc.)

Market Research

Etsy's Strengths

Etsy shops are easy to set up and promote your store
Direct communication between buyer and seller
Emails only from Etsy, not individual shops like shopping online
Starting to incorporate video in listings and “posts” on seller page

Etsy's Weaknesses

Could be easier to categorize and list products
Should be more like a social media platform, sense of community
Should give more info about the seller (current bio section is too small)
Confusing to have both a buyer account and seller account

Competitive Analysis

Direct competitors and provisional personas

Key Features

Updated UI

With convenient functions improving the experience of both Etsy buyers & sellers

Live Shopping

Capture interest of buyers, motivating them to purchase products & interact with sellers

Virtual Community

Seller can communicate directly with audience & all viewers can chat together

Interviews

2 Participants, Ages 18 - 30
All familiar with Etsy as both buyers & sellers
1 participant has tried livestream shopping

100% would like to see selected content, not suggested content
100% want to see new posts by the people they follow
100% like to view content on their time, not live
100% enjoy the community aspect of social media
100% like notifications such as cart reminders and coupons
100% like engaging with their audience using polls, emojis and direct messaging
100% need options and control over what they see on their feed – tuning their feed using tabs
100% admit they tend to impulse buy

Persona

Etsy Seller Empathy Map

List View vs. Grid View

Participants will test two versions of the “Sell Live Modal” and “Add Products Screen” - one has listings displayed in a “list” while the other layout is a grid.

Etsy uses both of these - grid view to display products for buyers, and list view to display listings for sellers.

Testing Participants & Objectives

100% Completion & Error-Free Rate
3 participants, ages: 28 – 64. All familiar with Etsy
Participant 1: Age 31, Uses Etsy as buyer, uses app frequently
Participant 2: Age 28, Uses Etsy as buyer & seller, uses app frequently
Participant 3: Age 64, Uses Etsy as buyer, never uses app

Overall quality and ease of navigation using the new livestream feature
Design of new feature reflects Etsy’s brand and style
Etsy sellers can easily connect with their buyers, engaging/interacting with them in a more meaningful way
Feature increases interest in the Etsy app, which would draw more users & increase downloads
Feature makes better use of Etsy app, improves overall experience for sellers

Strengths

Feature felt familiar to users, comfortable seeing/using this feature in Etsy’s app
100% of participants agreed the list view would be the most helpful for an Etsy seller
100% of Participants felt feature and new screens reflected Etsy’s style/brand
100% of participants said feature would increase their interest in Etsy
100% of participants thought feature would increase engagement/ interaction between buyers and sellers on Etsy

Weaknesses

100% of participants felt the size of the trash can icon was too large
100% of participants wanted to be able to view the entire listing before selecting to sell live
66% of participants suggested a different way of selecting products (using a symbol or selecting the whole box)

Next Steps

Decrease size of the trash can icon
Use the list view instead of grid view - looks more like inventory, helpful for the seller
Possibly select the whole listing to make the pictures bigger, or view all listing details
For consistency, use another symbol such as “+” for selecting a new product to add to showcase

The grid view seemed more for the buyer, whereas this view is for the seller because it shows their inventory at a glance.

I prefer this layout. I like how the list view lets you see more, if you’re updating your business, ‘in stock’ helps you know if you should even include it in your livestream showcase - you probably want to sell items that have you have more of.

I feel like this is more organized, and I can immediately see how many of this item are in stock - so I would think I need to get this item in my showcase now and sell it!

I feel like I can more easily select the items, I just feel like its more intuitive to place my finger here, I feel more comfortable scrolling up and down and I would have that immediate reaction to do that.

Next Steps

Implementing liveshopping feature, user testing with Etsy sellers

Sellers can create stories, go “Live” and live sell
Buyers can join livestreams, chat directly with the sellers, and purchase items that are being sold live - or simply be persuaded to visit the shop (and hopefully become a customer!)

Integrating selling into main Etsy app

Efficiently switch between selling and buying (ex: Poshmark)
Sellers can easily import their listings (ex: using a spreadsheet)
Sellers can access their shop - listings, messages, orders, etc.

Let's connect!

kirstin.drake24@gmail.com