Black Friday and Cyber Monday have kicked off the 2021 holiday shopping season and results are starting to come in. eRank has worked with our data providers to give you insight into the shopping behavior of more than a quarter million shoppers in the USA. We have also included some insight into the impact that Black Friday and Cyber Monday have on Etsy in the UK, Canada and Australia.
What can we expect this holiday season? What were the most popular products people looked for this past weekend? Did people start shopping earlier this year? How was Black Friday and Cyber Monday for Etsy? What can we learn in order to improve our shops for next year?
Read on for answers!
November shopping patterns
To get an idea of how the holiday season will look, we compared the four weeks up to 2021’s Cyber Monday with those same weeks in 2020. Year on Year (YoY), Amazon showed good growth. eBay, Etsy, Home Depot, Macy’s and Lowes also had minor increases. On the other hand, Walmart, Best Buy, Target, and Wayfair all saw small decreases.
Should we be concerned about this holiday season? Not really. We believe that more people were traveling or entertaining for this year’s Thanksgiving holiday (a big distraction from online shopping). Also, many folks were feeling more safe to shop in physical stores due to vaccine availability.
It’s exciting to see Etsy now competing alongside major retailers like Best Buy and Target. In the graph below, note the relative popularity of Etsy, and how dominant Amazon continues to be in the online shopping world.
10 most popular online marketplaces
Below are the 10 most popular online marketplaces for Black Friday 2021. The only significant change we saw was between Lowe’s and Wayfair.
| Website | 2021 Rank | 2020 Rank |
| Amazon | #1 | #1 |
| Walmart | #2 | #2 |
| eBay | #3 | #3 |
| Best Buy | #4 | #4 |
| Target | #5 | #5 |
| Etsy | #6 | #6 |
| Home Depot | #7 | #7 |
| Macys | #8 | #8 |
| Lowes | #9 (+1) | #10 |
| Wayfair | #10 (-1) | #9 |
Top 10 search terms for Black Friday – Cyber Monday 2021
What were people looking for over the Black Friday – Cyber Monday weekend? In our chart below, you’ll see Etsy traffic was dominated by people shopping for gifts (especially personalized). Gifts for him and for her, gifts for kids and gifts for pets. Another trend we’re seeing is how popular decor continues to be with Etsy shoppers this season.
Amazon and eBay searches were all about computer gaming, with Nintendo Switch beating Playstation 5 for the overall top search term.
| Etsy | Amazon | eBay |
| gifts for her | nintendo switch | playstation 5 |
| gifts for him | laptop | nintendo switch |
| personalized gift | airpods | xbox series x |
| jewelry | ipad | iphone |
| gifts | monitor | laptop |
| holiday decor | apple watch | ipad |
| home decor | tv | graphics card |
| gifts for kids | air fryer | gaming pc |
| gifts for pets | playstation 5 | rtx 3080 |
| minimalist | lego | oculus quest 2 |
What are people buying on other marketplaces?
Did you know eRank now tracks hundreds of marketplaces and retailers? Here are more Top 10s to give you an idea of what else people were searching for during Black Friday and Cyber Monday:
Walmart*: playstation 5, xbox series x, christmas tree, nintendo switch, laptop, apple watch, airpods, ipad, air fryer, christmas lights
Best Buy: playstation 5, nintendo switch, monitor, gaming laptop, xbox series x, graphics card, laptop, macbook, airpods, rtx
Target*: playstation 5, nintendo switch, lego, christmas decorations, christmas tree, xbox series x, christmas, ipad, apple watch, pokemon
Home Depot*: milwaukee, dewalt, shop vac, tool box, heater, wyze, makita, ryobi battery, washer dryer combo, cabinet
Lowe’s*: refrigerator, dishwasher, christmas trees, christmas lights, ladder, tool box, table saw, ceiling fans with lights, dewalt, snow blowers
Wayfair: coffee table, tv stand, desk, dresser, dining table, sofa, nightstand, bookcase, office chair, floor lamp
Macy’s: polo ralph lauren men, luggage, finish line, air fryer, nike, lenox, boots, instant pot, pyrex, christmas ornaments
*We took the liberty of removing household staples and supplies. No one really wants milk, bread, water, wood, insulation, or mulch for a holiday gift!
Our holiday forecast for Etsy
Overall, we think the outlook for Etsy is good this holiday season. In the lead up to Cyber Week 2021, visitors to Etsy were slightly up compared with the same period last year. However, numbers for the actual four-day Black Friday – Cyber Monday period itself were weaker than last year’s. Nonetheless, despite this decrease, we predict that the rest of the holiday season will be almost as strong as it was in 2020.
What about Etsy in other countries?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping also had an impact on Etsy in other countries. Below we have highlighted the two days of Black Friday and Cyber Monday on Etsy UK, Canada, and Australia.
Plan for growth in 2022!
eRank’s Trend Buzz and Marketplace Report help you discover what buyers are searching for on dozens of marketplaces, including Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Best Buy, Redbubble, and many more. All reports are updated daily so you can stay informed of the latest trends.
Happy holiday sales, Etsy sellers!
About the data
While we took great care to make this report as accurate as possible, none of the marketplaces mentioned above provide us with official numbers. The reports are based on behavioral data we get from our trusted third-party data providers. Please consider all numbers unofficial estimates based on our analysis.