Just before the 2021 holiday season, we ran a survey to gather insights into the habits of Etsy buyers. We polled customers on what was most important to them when making a purchase decision.
With online shopping, buyers have come to expect certain things from their experience. Etsy is no exception. You may be wondering what a customer might expect from your Etsy shop. Through our survey we discovered what five parts of the buying process people have found most important.
Here are the top ranking five:
Photos
According to 83% of buyers surveyed, photos are the most important part of their experience on Etsy. Each photo is a chance to convert someone browsing your listing into a paying customer. On Etsy, you have ten opportunities in total! Making sure you use every available photo as they will have an impact on your listing’s success. Photos are so important because they act as a stand-in for being able to physically hold a product. It is important to photograph your item at all angles. You can even provide a frame of reference, so shoppers can see an item’s size without measurements.
Product Description
Can you believe 76% of buyers surveyed said the product description was very important? A well-written and engaging description can serve multiple purposes. A good description will layout every detail about a product to a prospective buyer. It serves to improve searchability of a product through keywords and key phrases. A good description can help a shop mitigate customer service issues related to the product. Setting a customer’s expectations up front can go a long way to prevent returns or issues after a purchase.
Price
Price is one of those tricky things that can go either way when it comes to influencing a purchase decision. The price of a product was very important to 71% of those surveyed. Price your item too low and people may assume the product is of inferior quality. On the other hand, if you price an item too high, buyers may not even give your product a look. They may skip to a lower price alternative. Many factors play into pricing your item. Research your competition. Calculate the cost of production. In addition, Keep in mind if you will be offering free shipping when determining a price.
Reviews
You probably know how coveted the five-star review is. Sellers go to great lengths to receive nothing short of a perfect score with each sale. But, how important are those stars to buyers? It turns out reviews are important to Etsy buyers. Of the buyers surveyed, 68% said reviews were a very important part of their purchasing decision. Buyers often look to the reviews section before making a purchase. It offers a feel for what’s to be expected from the shop. While negative reviews do happen, too many will negatively affect sales.
Average Star Rating
Nearly 63% of the buyers we polled revealed a seller’s average star rating was very important. The average star rating is the cumulative average of all reviews a shop receives. This serves as a good gauge of a shop’s reliability and quality. It provides an overview of the typical experience with the shop. In some cases, it can ensure shoppers aren’t overly influenced by any single review.
Other Considerations
While we focused on the things mentioned above, these are some of the other things worth a mention that survey participants found important, these responses included:
- No-Hassle returns (58.6%)
- Fast shipping (57%)
- Free shipping (53.6%)
- Processing time (46.2%)
- Star Seller badge (34.3%)
- Total sales a shop has (31.9%)
In Summary
With all this in mind, it’s time to head over to your shop manager. Start optimizing your listings to take advantage of these important parts of the buying experience. Improve the shopping experience by using well-written descriptions, plenty of photographs and great customer service.
Stay-tuned for future data-driven content to help improve your selling experience.