Online crafts community Etsy has been growing in popularity, and is no doubt set for a successful future. I don't want to write in general about the wonders of Etsy, because a lot of that has been said already (through press and in blogs, both wise and moronic), but I do want to point out the relevance of Etsy to UK companies in various sectors. I am referring to adopting the principles of Etsy rather than suggesting the impractical, unwise and almost impossible idea of a UK company buying Etsy.
- CPG. Susan Mernit suggests that Etsy attracts "moms who want to run home based businesses". As such, it should be of interest to companies such as Procter & Gamble and Unilever, whose raison d'etre is these women. The thinking behind Etsy is similar to the thinking behind communities such as Mumsnet, which are currently the holy grail of online CPG marketing. Being Etsy-like would make CPG companies real enablers of the dreams of women who want to run home businesses, would create a tangible link between the brand and those women, would encourage loyalty and reliance on the CPG company - materially improving the lives of those women in a way that advertising promises but usually does not deliver. The Etsy structure could also provide a way to solve the problem many parents have of what to do with the toys and clothes that their babies grow out of so quickly.
- Retail. The suggestion that Martha Stewart (herself not a million miles away from being a CPG brand) should buy Etsy was
not surprising but nonetheless interesting (the idea may have been
little more than guesswork from Valleywag, but it turns out that Etsy and Martha Stewart do in fact find each other attractive).
We don't have a Martha Stewart equivalent in the UK (Delia has never
expanded beyond the kitchen), but there is some fit between the Etsy
concept and retailers such as John Lewis, (US company) Whole Foods
Market, Selfridges or Harvey Nichols. These retailers have all made
some gesture towards the Etsy ethos offline, and hosting an Etsy-style
service online could differentiate and greatly extend their
commoditised or non-existent websites.
- Countryside publications. Susan also points to the appearance of Etsy at the US Country Living Women Entrepreneurs event. Indeed, I was first introduced to Etsy by Designer's Block, which is very much in the Country Life mould. Country Life (now owned by Time Warner) could well breathe life into its mediocre online listings section by giving local craftspeople a platform that actually helped them sell their products. The same goes for Archant Life, owner of titles such as Cotswold Life. There is potential for a a Country Living fair made up solely of Etsy-style merchants, particularly given current trends towards local, organic, ethical products.
- Local directories. One of the interesting things about Etsy is the impression it gives of being a local website, despite its US/international base. In part this is because Etsy promises/delivers what we believe "local" merchants will give us - things like personal attention, honesty and uniqueness of product. Etsy is not a million miles from Yell's People Behind The Numbers campaign, which tries to inject a personal element into the impersonal listings of a yellow pages directory. By the same token, municipal authorities could adopt the Etsy model to promote the likes of Savile Row, Islington Antiques Market or Borough Market (forgive the London-centricness).
- Regional newspapers. For the same reasons as local directories, regional newspapers have a natural affinity with Etsy principles. Online classified listings are an important area of investment for regional newspapers as their revenues decline. Regional newspapers are also debating which of the various available local and hyperlocal strategies will work best for them, and an Etsy model for local merchants fits in well with most of them. Also of interest to regional newspapers (and to local directories, especially given the dovetail with the similar Google print advertising initiative) is Etsy's plan to launch a cooperative advertising programme.
- Finance. The link between Etsy and the finance industry is not as clear cut (although Etsy founder Rob Kalin cites Muhammad Yunus's Banker to the Poor as inspiration), but it does give me a gratuitous opportunity to mention the popularity of online microlending to the point that Kiva has more money than it can lend. This desire for connecting with small craftsmen and merchants is similar to Etsy, so much so that eBay has invested in its own microfinance website, Microplace. Not that the borrowers need to come with the do-good appeal of living in a developing country: lending to peers in developed countries is also proving popular (in the UK, we have Zopa). And what could be closer to the Etsy ethos than Lloyds TSB's For The Journey ads?
"Doing an Etsy" is not easy - Etsy makes it look easier than it is, and a lot comes down to the details of execution. Nor is it easy to avoid straying into eBay territory, wherein lies tried and tested futility. But Etsy has proven that the concept is popular, and I have indicated above some of the ways in which Etsyness could help UK companies.
