COO Raina Moskowitz explains why Etsy’s new site updates and policy changes were ‘urgent and important’

In the latest episode of the Glossy Podcast, the company’s COO and CMO Raina Moskowitz discussed the changes, including what motivated them and how they will benefit the company in an increasingly crowded retail landscape. The following excerpts from the conversation have been lightly edited for clarity.

New Etsy Updates

“We’re really trying to differentiate ourselves from the rest of e-commerce and other marketplaces. We’ve grown tremendously, and over that time, we’ve heard a lot from buyers and sellers who want to better understand what belongs on Etsy. What should they be buying on Etsy and what should they be selling on Etsy? … We realized how important it is to continue to elevate the role of our sellers on Etsy. And so, for example, what we’re announcing this week is, first of all, a clarification of our policy. And while it doesn’t sound sexy, it’s incredibly important and fundamental to making sure that our sellers understand what belongs on Etsy and what doesn’t. We’re clarifying what our policy has always been through what we call our creative standards. (We want to make) it more clear what was created by the seller, what was designed by the seller, and what was sourced or personally selected by the seller. So we have these categories that will make it more intuitive for our sellers when they list their items, and more importantly, for our buyers. A lot of buyers are new to Etsy, so they’re trying to figure out, “What can I expect?” and “How do I understand the role that a seller plays in this process?” — because they often shop on Etsy because they want to buy from a small business, an artist, or a creator. … We think this (update) is so important. And we’re going to top it all off with an exciting marketing campaign to support it.”

Impact of the pandemic on business

“So many new people were shopping on Etsy for the first time (during the pandemic) and had great experiences. … Especially during the pandemic, people were experiencing Etsy in new ways. And we were able to retain those customers. We have over 90 million buyers who shop on Etsy worldwide. And in addition to buyers, we brought in so many new sellers and creative entrepreneurs. And so, while the pandemic was an incredibly uncertain time, it actually (made Etsy) a platform where people came to make extra money and use their creative interests, during the lockdown to make extra money, join the community and be part of something bigger. … We (now) have over 7 million sellers worldwide. The scale was huge, and so was the number of things for sale on Etsy.”

Competition for consumers

“I think (‘competing’) is more about delivering what our consumers want from us. When you think of e-commerce, there’s Amazon, Walmart, Target and eBay, but (where you shop) really depends on what you’re looking for. … And when everyone is so used to (seeing sellers compete) for the lowest price and the fastest shipping, we try to represent something unique. The work that we’re doing (with our new updates) is to remind people of that. And I think the more people experience that mass production and that commoditized experience, the more they’re going to want Etsy. So we’re doubling down on our sellers and their unique items. And we think that mission is both urgent and important.”