In the face of huge e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Ebay, Etsy has managed to grow its business through a successful targeting of a niche segment of the market \u2013 artisan and handmade products. Etsy is today the premier destination for selling and buying unique, handmade products.<\/p>\n
Etsy is a two-sided marketplace that leverages indirect network effects to incentivize each side of the market to join and continue to use its services. At the heart of its model lies the sellers, and the business has been working hard to ensure it maintains the loyalty of its creative sellers to the Etsy platform.\u00a0 The logic of this approach is sound \u2013 more sellers result in more unique and attractive products on Etsy\u2019s marketplace, which attracts more buyers. More buyers in turn attracts more sellers who are looking to build a sustainable business off their products. This positively reinforcing cycle has enabled Etsy to build a business that generated $741 million of transactions in 2015. Etsy captures value by charging its sellers a small listing fee, a flat 3.5% transaction fee, and a payment processing fee of 3% of transaction value.<\/p>\n
A Clear Focus on Sellers<\/strong><\/p>\n A more detailed look at Etsy\u2019s seller-focused approach shows several initiatives to remove barriers for sellers to reach buyers. The company provides sellers with a comprehensive array of tools to build websites, list their products and to market them easily on its platform, as well as across mainstream social media channels. In 2014, Etsy also launched a credit-card processing dongle named Etsy Reader, to support the 35% of its sellers who also sell their products at local craft fairs. To support its sellers financially, the company has also piloted a crowdfunding project called Fund on Etsy<\/em> to provide an alternative way for selected sellers to raise capital up front to finance their production costs.<\/p>\n Most recently, Etsy has announced Etsy Studio, a secondary platform for sellers to reach a new audience of DIYers. Etsy Studio allows for DIY buyers to purchase input materials and tools, and access a library of user-submitted instructions and guides to build their own products. By doing so, Etsy is now competing with traditional craft supply retailers such as Michaels to build out the audience to which sellers can sell their products.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Forget about the Buyers<\/strong><\/p>\n Etsy has also invested heavily in the buyer experience. With data suggesting buying on its platform peaks around holiday periods, Etsy has released additional features designed to help improve the discovery process for buyers. A common complaint of its platform is that searching for the perfect item amongst the millions of listings can be difficult; in response Etsy has released features such as a gift finder, and more recently, announced the acquisition of an AI company to improve its search and imaging processing algorithms.<\/p>\n Expansion of its Mission<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded as a company to support artisans and creative makers, Etsy has since doubled down on a mission focused on sustainability and small-businesses. Its vision is to change the global economy to a more localized, small-business driven, fair and connected way. Etsy lives its mission through its continued support of the artisan community through local conferences, as well as a dedicated team in the US and Europe focused on advocating governments for policy reforms that affect micro-entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n The company has put its money where its mouth is and opted to list as a certified B-corp, a program that certifies companies on social impact metrics such as environmental performance, transparency, legal accountability and broad social missions. Etsy scores very highly on these metrics, posting a 127 score (versus a median score of 55 among other assessed companies). A score of 80 is required to be certified as a B-corp. By prioritizing its performance on this front, Etsy is clearly signaling that profitability is not the sole metric upon which it measures its success \u2013 a value proposition that should continue to lock in like-minded sellers and buyers onto its platform and sustain its business into the future.<\/p>\n Etsy\u2019s B-Score Performance for 2016<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n References<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In creating a platform that supports creative entrepreneurs around the world, Etsy hopes to reimagine commerce and build a more sustainable world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1051,"featured_media":4079,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-4078","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/growing-businesses-in-the-age-of-platforms\/","yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/02\/sellerstory-1.png\")
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