Etsy: annual merchandise volume 2005-2021

Following a rise in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the e-commerce platform focused on vintage, handmade, and specialty wholesale items, Etsy, continued to see the results of its popularity in 2021. In that year, Etsy's gross merchandise sales volume amounted to about 13.5 billion U.S. dollars.

Attaining and retaining consumers

Following the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the e-commerce platform easily maintained its jump in popularity in 2021. In this year, the company spent about 26 percent more on its global advertising expense than in the previous year. Alongside advertising spend, Etsy also made sure to increase its global marketing expense, both dependable methods in order to attract new users towards buying or selling on the platform.

Bridging the gap between artists and buyers

Even though, or precisely because, Etsy operates on a niche market model, the online marketplace has managed to attract a growing number of sellers and buyers over the past few years. Following the e-commerce boom triggered by the coronavirus, the number of active sellers on the platform went from 4.4 million in 2020 to 7.5 million a year later. Similarly, the number of buyers grew by nearly 18 percent in a year, with approximately 96 million users making at least one purchase in 2021.