🎧 Listen to this blog post as a Podcast instead '#21 - The BIG Update - Ecommerce world update - Etsy, Shopify, Instagram, Canva & Pinterest '

💙 Welcome back to the Handmade Boss Podcast

🚦 This is our BIG UPDATE episode for Etsy, Shopify, Instagram, Canva and Pinterest

⭐️ I'm giving you all the ecommerce updates you need to know

🚀 Cutting out the confusion around what you need to know and what to take action on

💪 I've pooled together everything that is relevant to you and your handmade business

Today’s blog is all about the BIG updates in the Ecommerce world for Etsy, Shopify, Instagram, Canva & Pinterest.

I'm giving you all the ecommerce updates you need to know for your handmade business. I’ve cut out all the confusion, got rid of the fluff and only given you the updates you need to know so you can take action in your creative business.

So, let's get straight to it…

Pinterest Updates

Pinterest has introduced some exciting new features for handmade businesses. You can now share your Pinterest boards directly to other social media accounts…woop woop!

Pinterest will create a video of your pins that you can then share to Instagram stories or download to your phone to repost. This is a great way to repurpose your content and reach more potential customers across different platforms. It makes things a lot easier so us business women who are already pushed for time.

Shopify Updates

Shopify has also been busy rolling out new features to help merchants, including those in the handmade space. Here are a few key updates:

• Split Screen Home Layout for Tablet: Shopify POS now allows you to have a split screen layout on your tablet, giving you more flexibility to view important information like orders, notes, and inventory all at once.
• Draft Order Invoices with Payment Terms: Sellers can now send draft order invoices to customers with customisable payment terms. This is especially helpful for B2B sellers, as it streamlines the wholesale ordering process. I love anything that makes things easier!
• Automated Privacy Settings: Shopify has introduced an option to automatically update your privacy settings in line with their recommendations, eliminating the need to manually review and update these settings every few months. This is something I’m really pleased they’ve introduced… I may have done a little happy dance. 

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Canva Updates

Canva, the popular design platform, has also made some notable updates that may be of interest to handmade business owners:

• $1 Billion in Product Donations: Canva has reached the impressive milestone of donating $1 billion worth of product through their Canva for Education and Canva for Nonprofits programs, demonstrating their commitment to supporting social impact initiatives. This gets a HUGE thumbs up from me.
• Acquisition of Generative AI Platform Leonardo: Canva has acquired the generative AI platform Leonardo, signalling their plans to enhance their AI-powered design tools. This could lead to even more powerful and user-friendly options for creating social media graphics, product images, and other visual content for your handmade business. Which is really good because I’ve not really been too impressed with Canvas current AI tools so this may be them acknowledging that it’s something they want to improve too.

Instagram Updates

Instagram has introduced a new feature called "Notes" that allows you to share short updates and thoughts with your followers. I already love Instagram’s Broadcast Group feature and at the moment I think it may be a more effective way to communicate with your audience and share important updates. I’m sure time will tell but, for now the jury is still out.

Etsy Updates

Etsy has been particularly active in rolling out updates and changes, so let's dive into the key points:

Partner Discounts

Etsy offers discounts with various vendors, such as Zebra label printers, Brother, Packlink Pro, USPS, QuickBooks, Turbo Tax, Adobe Express, and more. While the discounts may not always be the best available, it's worth checking out the Etsy Partner Discounts page to see if any of the offers could be beneficial for your handmade business. Personally, I still shop around for the best deals for me and my business.

Etsy 2024 Design Awards

Etsy is hosting the Etsy 2024 Design Awards, with a grand prize of $25,000 and the opportunity to be featured on the judges' social media channels. While entering competitions can be a great way to gain exposure, it's important to carefully review the terms and conditions to understand what Etsy may be able to do with your submission.

Etsy Insider Beta Program

Etsy is launching the Etsy Insider Beta, an invite-only membership program for select buyers in the US. This program will offer exclusive benefits, such as free domestic shipping, a special birthday bonus, and access to deals and discounts from participating sellers. While the details are still emerging, it's important to consider whether the potential benefits of being part of this program outweigh any potential drawbacks, such as the requirement to offer discounts to Etsy Insider members. I’m really eager to learn more about this as and when Etsy releases more info. If you’re going to offer discounts I always recommend doing it on stock that might be end of range or not selling so well that you just want to ‘get rid’. 

Spotlighting Etsy Sellers

Etsy is making a concerted effort to put Etsy sellers front and centre in their marketing and homepage experience. If you head over to their Insta account you’ll see more Etsy sellers featured on their grid (not quite yet, after you’ve read this blog, obvs!)

They’re continuing to suppress and remove listings that violate Etsy's policies, elevating high-quality listings in search and recommendations, and better organising the marketplace (on the Etsy app and desktop) through improved segmentation and search functionality.

These changes are part of Etsy's "bold moves" to drive consideration and reignite growth, focusing on three key areas:

• Quality: Making it easier for buyers to find the best products on Etsy.
• Great Value: Driving the perception that Etsy offers great deals and value.
• Reliability: Making the shopping experience on Etsy more convenient and trustworthy.

Etsy's emphasis on gifting as a winning theme is also worth noting, as they are redesigning the shopping experience to better cater to gift-giving. If you haven't already, its a MUST to  consider creating gift-focused listings, gift sets, and gift-wrapping options so you don’t miss out on the direct Etsy is taking and miss those all important sales. 

Etsy's Creativity Standard

Etsy has introduced a new "Creativity Standard" to provide more transparency around the nature of the products sold on their platform. It’s something that I really like. Is it perfect? No. Is it a work in progress? Probably. Is it heading in the right direction? Yes. 

Etsy’s creativity standards include the following categories:

• Made by You: Physical items made by a seller by hand or using personal or computerised tools.
• Handpicked by You: Vintage items, items from nature, and certain collections of items that a seller personally selected and curated for sale.
• Designed by You:Sellers’ original designs that are produced or printed by a third party or offered as a digital download.
• Sourced by You: Items that enable buyer creativity, including craft and party supplies and items that are personalised with a buyer’s custom text or image

It's important to understand these categories and ensure your listings are accurately represented, as Etsy continues to focus on maintaining the integrity of their marketplace.

Etsy Search Improvements

Etsy has been making significant improvements to their search functionality, leveraging generative AI and advanced machine learning to enhance the user experience. Key updates include:

• Conversational Search: Allowing buyers to use more natural language when searching, rather than relying on specific keywords. Knowing your target audience is key to getting this right.
• Query Understanding and Mission Understanding: Improving Etsy's ability to understand search intent and match buyers with the most relevant products.
• Reducing Duplicate Listings: Etsy has cut in half the percentage of searches where a high number of listings on the first page are from a single shop, and reduced the percentage of searches with two or more seemingly identical listings by 70%.

These search improvements are aimed at providing a better shopping experience for buyers and creating a more level playing field for sellers, with smaller and medium-sized shops seeing a 30% increase in sales as a result.

Etsy Performance Metrics

On to the number crunching. Looking at Etsy's Q2 2024 financial results, there are some encouraging signs for handmade businesses:

• Active Buyers: 91.5 million active buyers, up 1% year-over-year.
• New Buyers: 5.6 million new buyers, down 99.1% year-over-year but still a significant number.
• Reactivated Buyers: 6.5 million reactivated buyers, up 88.5% year-over-year.
• Repeat Buyers: 37 million repeat buyers, up 2% year-over-year.
• Habitual Buyers: 6.9 million habitual buyers, down 3% year-over-year but still a substantial number.
• Average Spend per Active Buyer: $124, down 3.2% year-over-year.

These results really demonstrate that Etsy continues to attract a large and engaged buyer base, with a significant number of new, reactivated, and repeat customers. While the average spend per buyer has dipped slightly, the overall trend suggests that Etsy remains a viable and promising platform for handmade businesses to thrive.

So, to conclude

The ecommerce world is constantly evolving, and it's crucial for handmade business owners to stay up-to-date with the latest updates and changes across platforms like Etsy, Shopify, Instagram, Canva, and Pinterest. By understanding these developments and adapting your handmade business strategies accordingly, you can position your business for success and capitalise on the growing demand for unique, handcrafted products.

Love Steph xox

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