Few weeks ago Etsy released their Q4 2024 financial results and this month we’re kicking off with a closer look at something that matters to every Etsy seller and this is the
State of Etsy - Q4 performance and 2025 plans
Yes, quarterly financial results are usually big corporate reports. But inside the numbers and presentations are important signals that show us where Etsy currently stands and where it is heading.
And most importantly - how you can align your strategy to keep growing. In this article, we’ve pulled out the key takeaways, decoded what they really mean for growth-focused stores, and below you will find the key factors for visibility and performance in the coming months.
1. State of Etsy: Slight dip, but still strong
Let’s start with the big picture.
Etsy’s marketplace sales (GMS) hit $3.3 billion in Q4, which is down 8.6% year-over-year. Not ideal - but it is what it is. Etsy points to shoppers tightening their wallets, plus aggressive discounting from ecommerce giants.
Etsy’s guidance for Q1 2025 suggests a similar trend - about a 10% drop year-over-year. Certain categories are affected more than others - Home & Living spending seems to be below the average.
Here’s the silver lining: If your shop is flat or slightly up compared to last spring, you’re already ahead of the curve. Growth in this market means you're doing something right.
Now for the good news - Etsy is not pulling back. They spent $285 million on marketing in Q4, more than the previous year - and they continue investing heavily to bring buyers to the platform.
Even with a dip in total sales, Etsy’s inbound traffic and marketing firepower remain unmatched for creative sellers. And their investments keep going this year - here are two main takeaways about the current direction for the months ahead.
2. Etsy 2025 focus - Gifting & Personalization
Even with a relative slowdown, one trend stood out loud and clear in 2024: gifting and personalization are holding strong - and even outpacing the market.
Etsy is highlighting this in their financial report and doubling down on it. Expect more dedicated gifting experiences around key holidays and year-round occasions, both in the app and across search.
What does this mean for your shop?
Make personalization obvious
Use your thumbnails, listing photos, variations, and personalization fields to spotlight your custom options - name engraving, color choices, gift messages, you name it. Don’t bury the magic. Let it shine at the first glance.
We also expect Etsy to roll out improvements to the personalization flow soon. They finally noticed it's quite limiting, what a big surprise! Your Etsy Expert here will let you know as soon as we see new listing features coming out.
Gift tagging continues to matter (a lot)
Tags and titles around upcoming gift occasions are more important than ever (as we will discuss below). Etsy has repeatedly shared that a big chunk of gift buyers show up with no item in mind, starting by looking for inspiration. That means a broader keyword pool helps you show up in a lot of these discovery journeys where the buyer has no set expectations.
Introduce giftable listings
Even if your main product line is premium or niche, create 3–5 listings that are easy-entry gifts. "Gifts under $50" curated sections show up often in the discovery experiences like Gift mode, Editor's Picks and the Etsy app's Shop tab. A core part of the SEO strategies this year is showing up in these funnels which Etsy pushes front and center into the buyer journey.
Gifting isn’t just for Q4. It’s a year-round engine - and right now with Mother's Day, Father's Day and Wedding season under way, Etsy is "surfacing" (aka prioritizing visibility for) giftable, customizable listings more than ever. Work together with your SEO team here to make sure your listings are fine-tuned to show up in all the right places.
3. Etsy’s Search = Discovery, not just the search bar
There’s a major shift happening in how people shop on Etsy - and how Etsy shapes the search experience. It’s been happening for a while, and it goes far beyond typing in keywords.
As we mentioned earlier, a growing number of buyers come to Etsy with no specific item in mind - starting their buyer journey by looking for ideas and inspiration. And Etsy is intentionally building both the website and app experiences around this type of browsing behavior.
In their own words, Etsy is “revamping navigation and browsing surfaces,” with Gifting and Deals being prominently integrated in key areas like the app’s “Shop” tab. Pair that with redesigned home feeds and curated sections like Editor’s Picks (yes, the ones we are always nagging about), and it becomes clear:
Search is no longer just a bar — it’s a collection of high-visibility discovery experiences.
The search engine underpins all of these experiences - we are just no longer expecting buyers to type in a phrase every time they open the website or the app.
What does this mean for your shop?
It means Etsy SEO is about more than keywords. It’s about showing up across the many surfaces Etsy is actively integrating and boosting - especially in the lead-up to gifting occasions like Mother’s Day. Here’s what to keep in mind:
Think beyond the search bar
Etsy’s own team is now thinking in terms of “surfaces” - and these are the spaces where your listings need to show up: Editor’s Picks, occasion-based collections, price-filtered carousels like “Gifts under $50,” and more.
If in previous years your main traffic came predominantly from a keyword like “adult wooden puzzles”, today’s shopper might never even type that in - they may find your product through a curated feed, a discovery tab, or an occasion bundle.
The good news? When your listings show up on featured “surfaces,” your exposure can skyrocket far beyond what relying on a single niche keyword previously delivered.
Keywords play a key role - but they’re not the whole game
Strong Etsy SEO still starts with a broad keyword pool that taps into a wide range of searches, including around gifting and occasion themes. Pair that with tight niche targeting for your core search phrases, and there is your foundation.
Even with personalization and complex models in the search engine, keywords remain a core aspect of where your listing can show up. We still need "tea kit" and "tea accessories" to have a chance of showing up as part of this curated search. It's personalized around buyer interests but the keywords remain a crucial link to determine the relevancy of your listings:
From there keyword optimization for featured collections and search phrases (“Mother’s Day accessories,” “custom graduation keepsake”, etc.) works together with:
- price cues and search filters like "items with an active sale", "under $50", "ships in 1-3 days", etc.
- good listing quality scores - ranking for featured searches is highly competitive as this is peak Etsy exposure - so your best listings, the ones with strong stats and quality scores, are the best candidates to rank there.
Bottom line: Once again, work with your SEO team to target not just what buyers are typing, but where Etsy is guiding them. That’s where the real visibility lives in 2025.
Even with a bit of market slowdown, Etsy is still one of the most powerful engines for creative businesses, and they’re putting serious money behind keeping it that way - $285 million in marketing last quarter alone.
The message is clear: Etsy is leaning into gifting, personalization, and discovery-first shopping experiences. Work with your SEO team to make sure your listings are tuned for discovery - from price-filtered gift sections to curated surfaces like Editor’s Picks. The Spring Holiday Season is a massive opportunity, and the sellers who adapt well and stay on the pulse of the marketplace will see the biggest gains.
