• Amazon for handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies.
• eBay, but focused exclusively on unique artisan products and vintage finds.

• Etsy Marketplace: An online global marketplace connecting buyers and sellers of unique, handmade, vintage items, and craft supplies.
• Seller Services: A suite of tools and features offered to sellers, including advertising, payment processing, and discounted shipping labels, to help them manage and grow their businesses.

Etsy (ETSY) primarily sells its platform services to individuals, operating a two-sided marketplace that connects independent sellers with buyers worldwide. While Etsy's revenue is primarily generated from fees paid by its sellers (who are predominantly individuals or small businesses), its platform is designed to serve a diverse range of individual buyers looking for unique products.

Here are up to three categories of individual customers (buyers) that Etsy serves:

1. Seekers of Unique & Handcrafted Items: These customers are drawn to Etsy for its vast selection of items that are distinct from mass-produced goods. They prioritize creativity, craftsmanship, and individuality in products ranging from personalized gifts and fashion accessories to bespoke home decor and art. They often seek items that tell a story or support independent creators and small businesses.

2. Gift-Givers & Special Occasion Shoppers: A significant portion of Etsy's customer base consists of individuals purchasing items for gifting. These shoppers are looking for thoughtful, personalized, or one-of-a-kind presents for various occasions such as birthdays, holidays, weddings, baby showers, and anniversaries. Etsy provides a platform to find distinctive gifts not readily available in conventional retail environments.

3. Niche Hobbyists & Creative Individuals: This category includes customers actively seeking specific craft supplies, DIY kits, patterns, tools, or digital products (e.g., printable art, digital planners, embroidery files) to support their hobbies, creative projects, or small crafting businesses. They value Etsy's specialized inventory and the ability to source unique materials and designs.

• Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)
• Adyen N.V. (ADYEN)
• Meta Platforms Inc. (META)

Key Risks to Etsy (ETSY)

1. Cyclicality and Dependence on Discretionary Consumer Spending: Etsy's business is highly sensitive to consumer discretionary spending, which has proven to be more cyclical than investors may have initially believed. Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS), a critical metric, has declined for three consecutive years since its peak in 2021. This trend is attributed to "pressure on consumer discretionary product spending," as Etsy's primary product categories, such as furniture, apparel, and jewelry, consist of items consumers can delay purchasing during periods of economic instability or inflationary pressures. This cyclicality can significantly impact sales volumes and overall revenue.
2. Intense Competition and Market Saturation: The e-commerce market in which Etsy operates is highly competitive, with numerous platforms vying for market share. Etsy faces competition from both specialized niche platforms and larger e-commerce giants. This intense competition contributes to market saturation, making it increasingly challenging for new sellers to gain visibility and for existing sellers to stand out. The crowded marketplace also poses difficulties in attracting new buyers and retaining the existing user base, further hindering growth.
3. Shrinking User Base: A significant risk is the decline in Etsy's active user base, encompassing both sellers and buyers. Between Q4 2023 and Q4 of the last year, active sellers decreased by 10% and active buyers by 1.1%. Furthermore, the number of habitual buyers, defined as those who shop on six or more days and spend at least $200 within a 12-month period, has also declined, indicating a potential weakening of the platform's value proposition and buyer loyalty.

TikTok Shop and the broader rise of social commerce platforms represent a clear emerging threat to Etsy. TikTok Shop leverages short-form video content and live shopping to enable direct purchasing within the platform, rapidly gaining traction with small businesses, creators, and consumers looking for unique and custom items. This model directly challenges Etsy's established marketplace by offering an alternative, highly engaging discovery and transaction path for goods that typically align with Etsy's handmade and unique offerings.

Evidence includes TikTok's significant investment in e-commerce infrastructure, aggressive seller acquisition strategies, and the platform's ability to drive virality and impulse purchases for products often featured by creators. Many existing Etsy sellers are experimenting with or migrating sales to TikTok Shop, drawn by its massive user base and integrated marketing capabilities. This trend could siphon off both sellers and buyers from Etsy, impacting its transaction volume and seller base by providing a compelling, video-first alternative for unique product discovery and direct sales.

Etsy operates within a significant total addressable market encompassing handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies.

• Overall Addressable Market: Etsy's total addressable online market size across all relevant retail categories in its core geographic markets (including the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, and France) was approximately $500 billion as of 2024. Including offline sales, this market quadruples to over $2 trillion.
• Handmade Goods / Handicrafts Market:
  • The global market for handmade and crafts is estimated to be over $906 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach $1.94 trillion by 2033.
  • The U.S. market for handmade goods is estimated to be over $268 billion.
  • Another estimate places the global handicraft market size at USD 1,107.67 billion in 2024, projected to reach USD 1,218.77 billion in 2025 and USD 2,397.15 billion by 2032. The U.S. handicrafts market alone is expected to reach USD 627.86 billion by 2032.
• Vintage Items Market:
  • The global Vintage and Retro Goods Market was valued at USD 75 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 150 billion by 2032.
  • The global antiques and collectibles market was estimated at USD 238.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to grow to USD 402.9 billion in 2034.
  • The global second-hand collectibles market is projected to grow from USD 132.90 billion in 2025 to USD 233.26 billion by 2034.
  • Etsy defines vintage items as those that are at least 20 years old.
• Craft Supplies Market:
  • The global arts and crafts supplies market expanded from USD 49.44 billion in 2024 to USD 53.57 billion in 2025, with forecasts projecting further growth to USD 94.28 billion by 2032.
  • The Craft Supplies Market was estimated at $41.08 billion in 2024 and is projected to grow from $42.83 billion in 2025 to $64.95 billion by 2035. North America is the largest market, accounting for approximately 45% of the global share.
  • Online sales of hobby and craft supplies in the United States exceeded $22.2 billion in 2024.

Etsy (ETSY) is expected to drive future revenue growth over the next 2-3 years through several key initiatives:

1. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Enhanced Personalization and Buyer Experience: Etsy is strategically investing in AI and machine learning to deliver more personalized shopping experiences, improve search relevance, and optimize product discovery for buyers. This focus extends to enhancing the mobile app experience, aiming to increase user penetration, engagement, and conversion rates, ultimately leading to greater buyer frequency and retention.
2. Expanding Monetization through Increased "Take Rate": The company has demonstrated a consistent ability to grow its take rate, which is the percentage of Gross Merchandise Sales (GMS) that translates into revenue. This expansion is driven by the continued growth of services like Etsy Ads, payments revenue, and the introduction of new seller fees, allowing for revenue growth even amidst fluctuations in GMS.
3. Accelerating Growth of the Depop Marketplace: Depop, Etsy's subsidiary focused on secondhand apparel, is a significant growth vector. Etsy is actively investing in brand marketing and strategic initiatives to accelerate Depop's GMS growth, particularly targeting the U.S. resale clothing market, and has seen impressive growth in this segment.
4. Empowering Sellers with Enhanced Tools and Support: Etsy is committed to fostering a thriving seller community by investing in advanced tools and support. This includes providing enhanced seller analytics, offering improved customer support, and rolling out AI-powered features such as title suggestions and writing assistants. These improvements are designed to help sellers optimize their shops, streamline operations, and ultimately grow their businesses on the platform, which in turn supports the overall marketplace's success and revenue.

Share Repurchases

• Etsy's Board of Directors approved a new $1 billion stock repurchase program in October 2024.
• The company repurchased approximately $577 million in shares in 2023 and $724 million in 2024.
• In the first three quarters of 2025, Etsy repurchased approximately $189 million in Q1, $335 million in Q2, and $120 million in Q3, totaling around $644 million.

Share Issuance

• In June 2025, Etsy announced a private offering of $650 million in convertible senior notes due 2030, with up to $175 million of the proceeds used to repurchase common stock concurrently.
• The company reported proceeds from the issuance of convertible senior notes of $700 million in Q2 2025.

Outbound Investments

• Etsy acquired the online fashion marketplace Depop for $1.625 billion in 2021.
• In 2021, Etsy also acquired Elo7, an online marketplace for handicraft products in Brazil, for $217 million, but subsequently sold it in 2023.

Capital Expenditures

• Etsy's capital expenditures were approximately $12.9 million in 2023 and $14.2 million in 2024.
• The company's capital expenditures peaked at $18.412 million in June 2025.
• A primary focus of capital expenditures and strategic investments for 2025 includes improving seller tools and support, enhancing search and discovery algorithms, and leveraging AI and machine learning for more personalized experiences.