Etsy Publishes Guide to 2018 Holiday Trends

Etsy published a report for sellers on 2018 holiday trends today. The Marketplace Insights report has information about seasonal opportunities and it breaks down trends by category (vintage included). It's a reminder that holiday shopping is picking up now that the calendar has turned to October.

The report reveals which themes Etsy will promote to shoppers in the coming weeks, including through email and Editors' Picks pages. For instance, it reveals seasonal search spikes in "engagement ring" in October, and "holiday decor," and "knitting supplies" in early November.

It includes some interesting charts - for example, "Holiday decor-related search volume on Etsy" reveals that searches for holiday decor pick up in early October and peak in early November.  

And a "Knitting-related search volume on Etsy" bar chart shows a visual representation of how knitting-related searches ("knitting," "yarn bowl," and "yarn") gained momentum in late October last year and peaked through the month of November. 

The advice offered by category is not in-depth, though it is interesting and could spark some ideas. For instance, under Vintage, Etsy says there's a 90's nostalgia trend happening. We would have liked to have seen more charts like that the one showing how knitting searches peaked over the holiday season last year.

Some of the advice seems really specific: labeling a trend "Under the Sea," Etsy suggests: "To appeal to shopper interest in all things aquatic, do some deep sea diving. Try incorporating mermaids and sea creatures (like narwhals, otters, and jellyfish) with pearl details, blue glitter, and sequins."

On page 35, Etsy provides more solid holiday merchandising tips. For example, it suggests: "Think about what holiday shoppers are likely to search for (ex: novelty gift or stocking stuffer), and use those phrases in your titles and tags. Be sure to use multi-word, descriptive phrases in your tags."

And it suggests sellers describe the type of person (or groups of people) an item would make a great gift for and why. "Think outside the box to include co-workers, bosses, babysitters, and teachers, for example. Put important keywords that target recipients in your titles and tags."

One thing that jumped out is the popularity of Halloween items. Etsy revealed that in recent years, there were more Halloween-related searches than searches for Mother's Day or Father's Day. Remarkable, but too terribly surprising - we've noticed a huge uptick in recent years of people decorating their homes for Halloween in our area, almost as many as decorate their homes for Christmas.

Let us know what kind of merchandising you do to make your online listings appealing to holiday shoppers.

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