Etsy showcases top products in search results
Etsy Inc. is building on efforts to improve its site experience for buyers and sellers.
The online retailer, which recently introduced a new set of creativity standards for products sold on its site, is now following through on a promise it made to revamp aspects of online search and discovery.
Etsy, which already has been incorporating attributes like listing detail, photo quality and customer service track record into the top items it surfaces for customer search queries, is optimizing its search results to showcase a broader range of items from more sellers.
For example, Etsy said a generic search term like “Halloween accessories” now surfaces a wide range of items. Since implementing these changes into its search functionality, the retailer said it has seen an increase in the number of four- and five-star reviews sitewide while providing approximately 70% of shops on its site with more visibility in search.
Etsy has also launched a search visibility page that provides specific actionable tips, including insights on listing image quality and quantity, return policies, message response times, and shipping prices, for certain seller listings. As sellers make changes to their listings, they will gain the ability to track improvements in real time.
"We believe the work we have done to improve search and discovery, paired with a more data-empowered community of small businesses, will help us better match our buyers to sellers that deliver what they’re looking for, with an experience they can trust," Nick Daniel, Etsy chief product officer, said in a corporate blog post.
These efforts follow an initiative Etsy launched at the beginning of 2024 to establish itself as a premier gift shopping destination with strategic steps such as rolling out a video gifting feature, as well as Etsy Gift Mode, an artificial intelligence-enabled shopping hub that combines AI and human curation to help shoppers find an appropriate present for every occasion.
In addition, Etsy is facing new increased competition from specialty arts & crafts retailer The Michaels Companies, which is selling third-party handmade goods on its site and in stores.
[READ MORE: Michaels debuts third-party marketplace for handmade items]
