Etsy has made major advancements to its search and discovery experience, aiming to favor high-quality items from sellers “who consistently provide delightful and reliable experiences,” according to Chief Product Officer Nick Daniel in a blog post.
While many consumers go to Etsy to access a wide selection of handmade and curated items — the site has more than 100 million items listed — Daniel noted that giving shoppers the power to browse and discover is only one piece of the puzzle.
Etsy is now factoring in the quality of a listing to determine where an item shows up. Listing details, photo quality, customer service track record and other factors will now influence how visible an item is to consumers, which will empower them to not only find the most relevant item but also the best seller to meet their needs.
“Say you come to Etsy looking for the perfect backpack for the new school year. Of course, when you search ‘purple backpack,’ you expect to be presented with a variety of purple backpacks,” Daniel explained. “But at Etsy, we don’t want you to have to dig through hundreds of listings to find an item you feel great about buying. We want the first few backpacks that you see to be the highest quality options, from a range of reliable sellers, so you or your child can sail into the first day of school in style.”
Etsy has been developing and testing these enhancements over the past year. Since the marketplace has incorporated these attributes into search, it has seen an increase in four- and five-star reviews sitewide and also has seen a decline in refund requests.
Etsy Remains Focused on Item Discovery
Although search relevance and item quality are now top of mind, Etsy is still focused on making the shopping experience dynamic and discovery-driven. The company is optimizing its search to showcase a broader range of items from more sellers, which will create more opportunities for its network of artisans and small businesses to be seen.
For example, if a shopper searches for “solar system decorations,” they won’t just see wall art; they also will see mobiles, garlands, night lights and even crafting kits.
“Diversifying our search results not only enables discovery for buyers, but it also creates opportunities for more sellers,” Daniel said. “In fact, serving up a broader array of listings has led to approximately 70% of shops on Etsy having more visibility in search, meaning buyers are able to find and engage with even more small businesses on our marketplace.”
This isn’t the only new perk for Etsy sellers: the company has launched the Etsy Search Visibility Page, designed to provide merchants with actionable tips to improve their position in search results as well as their presence on the platform. They will receive insights on image quality and quantity, return policies, message response times, shipping prices and other factors that influence customer decision-making.
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