Etsy, Inc.

Empire Outlets, the outlet center taking shape on the Staten Island side of the Staten Island Ferry, has turned to Manhattan and Holly Nichols to help promote the center.   Nichols’s illustrations have guided campaigns for Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman-Marcus, not to mention New York and Boston Fashion Weeks. Her work has 600,000 followers on Instagram, and originals sell to collectors on Etsy.  

Amazon is making its debut in the bridal category —a move that will take another hit against its crafting competitor Etsy.   

There’s been a couple of change in the C-suite of hand-made goods marketplace Etsy.   The company said chairman and CEO Chad Dickerson is stepping down, to be succeeded as CEO by board member Josh Silverman, effective May 3. Fred Wilson, who has served as lead independent director of the Etsy board, since October 2014, will succeed Dickerson as chairman.  

Online marketplace retailer Etsy.com is looking to expand its base of sellers by entering the estimated $40 to $44 billion craft supplies market, which is dominated by such retailers as Michael’s and Jo-Ann’s Stores.    In its largest expansion to date, Etsy announced it will launch Etsy Studio, which will sell craft supplies and offer DIY tutorials, in April. It is the first new marketplace Etsy has built from the ground up since it debuted in 2011.     

Mark your calendars. Free Shipping Day, the one-day online event featuring free shipping with no minimum order requirement and delivery by Christmas Eve, is scheduled this year for Friday, Dec. 16.

"While we try to schedule the event one week before Christmas Eve, the calendar doesn't always accomodate," said Luke Knowles, founder of Free Shipping Day.  "What sets Free Shipping Day apart from other shopping holidays is small business participation.”

Payment processing platform Worldpay isn’t naming names, but appears to be owning up to playing a major role in the Etsy transactional outage.   Since July 1, what Etsy has described as a third-party payments processing issue has stalled thousands or even millions of online transactions. In a running thread on the online marketplace’s “Bugs” community forum, some users have been posting that their delayed orders have gone through, but others still complain of inability to process payments.  

The July Fourth long weekend was not a happy one for many users of the Etsy online marketplace, which has been hit by lingering transactional problems.   Since July 1, what Etsy has described as a third-party payments processing issue has left thousands of purchases in limbo. A thread in the “Bugs” section of the Etsy online community forum has registered more than 4,000 complaints from buyers and sellers who cannot complete transactions. Etsy users have also been venting their frustrations on Twitter and Reddit.

There are four main channels consumers use to initiate an online purchase, and each one results in a different experience.  

Online marketplace Etsy is announcing two new ways for sellers to promote their brands, both on and off Etsy.

Pattern by Etsy is a new service that lets sellers create their own custom websites on their own domains, powered by their Etsy shops and integrated with the platform’s tools. Research from the company shows that more than a third of its sellers are interested in opening a commerce site of their own, but many have found the process to set up and maintain a custom site too difficult.

Macy's has partnered with one of the hottest online retailers to open a pop-up shop of handmade wares at its legendary store in Manhattan.

A team of buyers from Macy's hand-selected more than 50 products from eight designers for the new Etsy Shop at Macy's in Herald Square. The assortment features stationery, jewelry and homewares, and also includes five unique items designed exclusively for Macy’s from Sol del Sur, Meera Lee Patel, and Modern Mud.