The pandemic-related “tidal wave of growth” has stopped, according to CEO Josh Silverman on a May 4 earnings call.
Silverman addressed the recent Etsy seller strike for increasing transaction fees, strategies to attract new shoppers, and Ukrainian seller concessions.
Etsy reported $579.3 million in revenue for the quarter ended March 31, up 5.2 percent year-on-year. GMS were $3.25 billion, up 3.5 percent from the same period in 2021.
Etsy’s net profits fell 40.1 percent to $86.1 million. The decrease in net income was mostly attributable to increasing employee compensation costs due to a 71% rise in new recruits. This includes the UK’s Depop and the Brazilian arts and crafts marketplace Elo7.
In Q1 2022, the online marketplace recorded 89 million active purchasers in approximately 250 countries. Currently, it has 5.5 million sellers. Etsy plans to target male customers, as 70% of its customers are female.
Etsy estimates Q2 revenue between $540 million and $590 million. GMS is projected to be $2.9-3.2 billion.
Strike by Etsy vendors
Etsy increased seller transaction fees from 5% to 6.50% in April. According to some Etsy sellers, a 42 percent charge rise in 2018 improved the seller experience. The organisation stated the firm failed.
The organisation also criticised Etsy’s Offsite Ads programme, which charges sellers between 12 and 15%. That’s on top of existing costs for things sold through Offsite’s advertisements. Offsite Ads is a service that advertises vendors’ wares on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bing. Sellers making less than $10,000 can opt out but not those making more.