3 Etsy Predictions for 2021

I don’t know about you, but I love to make predictions and see how they turn out. For me, it is more fun than making resolutions at the start of a new year. (See here to find out more about why I’m not too fond of new year’s resolutions.)

These are my 3 Etsy predictions for 2021, (but also the things I would love to see Etsy do in 2021).

To be clear, I don’t have any insider information about these; I think they would be sweet expansions or additions for Etsy to make, or I think they seem somewhat likely.

Etsy takes more cues from social platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that most significant apps have a ”stories” feature now. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn all have it, and TikTok IS stories, but they stick around longer. The idea of taking cues from social media is nothing new for Etsy.

Etsy has displayed an interest in adding some ”social media’ type features to their site in the past. I think we will see more of this in 2021. In 2020, Etsy added listing videos allowing sellers to add short videos to their listings along with their standard photos. Short-form video is absolutely on point for the current landscape of things. They have long had the ability to push listings through to social and used to have ”shop updates’ display on the home page for users who followed a shop. I 100% think it’s realistic to anticipate something of a ”stories” feature in shops in 2021! Wouldn’t that be fun? Another place to share (or repurpose) content.

More guides

Etsy editors and trend watchers will prevail in 2021. Over the 2020 holiday season, Etsy collaborated with several influencers and celebrities to create curated, custom collections, and these got a lot of push on social and Etsy’sEtsy’s blog. Etsy has also been releasing trend reports more often than I’ve seen in the past. This leads me to believe there will be more of a focus on influencer and Etsy editor trend reporting and product curations in 2021. Etsy will be making trend predictions and identifying items that play into those themes, which means the time to optimize your shop for features like that is now.

Allowing sellers to create their own curated collections

There hasn’t been a functional change to the shop sections part of Etsy shops in … forever? Long enough, at least, that I don’t recall any other iteration of them. I predict (or, more like I would love to see) Etsy will give sellers more functionality to link products together with tags within listings or their images. Maybe this will look like them building out the way the shop section pages work – or adding a variation of it – so sellers can bring together complementary products for their browsers and buyers. I could see Etsy allowing sellers to share these collections or have them be searchable as collections, not just listings.

Something of a combination of the treasuries of yesteryear, shop sections Editors Picks” of today.

Those are the things I’ve got on my mind. Now, we wait and see what happens. Maybe they have some cool ideas that will reveal themselves in the next several months!

Thanks for checking out my 3 Etsy predictions for 2021. I believe Etsy will endure as the most powerful marketplace for handmade business owners in 2021. Etsy can effectively be used in conjunction with other tools such as Shopify, Instagram and email marketing to boost your business in the new year.  If you are looking to tap into that power and create a more visible, profitable, and enjoyable experience on Etsy, join us for an upcoming session of our free Etsy masterclass.

Etsy sellers, you might also like these other posts:

• Common Etsy Concerns + Hesitations – Episode 132
• Your Business Needs a Branded Domain to Grow Beyond Etsy & Instagram – Episode 133
• 3 Benefits of Etsy Offsite Ads that Most Sellers Missed | Episode 126

*This post is written and published by The Merriweather Council. The Merriweather Council is not affiliated with Etsy Inc. Etsy is a trademark of Etsy Inc. We write about Etsy, from our own experiences, not for Etsy.