From Etsy’s Merchandising Desk: August Beckons Autumn

marymary

Story by marymary

Published on July 06, 2010 in Seller Handbook

Photo by thepuddingstorevint

It’s time to take advantage of these last summer months before the busy holiday season ahead. Stay in the know with some of our merchandising plans for August. It is our goal to create a healthy balance between promotions for traditional holidays, seasonal changes, cultural events, and lifestyle trends.

Rounding Out July
Keep up with July’s seasonal themes, holidays, dates to remember and trends in July’s Merchandising Desk Edition.

  • Promotional Opportunities for Sellers:
    1. Christmas in July Community Sale: Each year the Etsy community organizes a special site-wide sale open to all shop owners in an effort to stimulate summer transactions and clear out inventory. Find out how to participate in this annual community promotion in this blog post.
    2. Are you a new seller or know of an undiscovered shop? (Specifically Etsy shops that have opened in the last three months or have had under 15 sales.) Let us know in this Forum thread for upcoming promotional opportunities.
    3. Create and nominate a Treasury for Etsy’s home page fitting July’s curation themes in this Forum thread.
Stay Engaged in August
Our central merchandising topics this month will center around basking in the last days of summer and planning ahead for autumn. You’ll find the extended list of topics we’re excited to highlight below. We’re looking for your creative voice on each of the upcoming seasonal motifs.
  • Summer Wrap-up: Soaking up the sun and fitting in those last minute vacations. Outdoor entertaining with friends and family at garden parties, outdoor picnics, barbecues, and poolside fetes. Beach, lake, mountain and countryside weekend getaways filled to the brim with activities like camping, biking, hiking, backpacking, outdoor sports, gear and recalling the day’s events under the stars.
  • Back to School: Wardrobe and decor updates: think hints of plaid and light outerwear, functional furniture, dorm room solutions and essentials for a new or first apartment. Office and organizational supplies: think journals, sketchbooks, portfolios, papers, writing utensils, pouches, backpacks, desks, storage solutions, and creative organizational concepts.
  • Fall Fashion Preview: Introductions of textured thick fabrics and leather, inclusion of outerwear, accessories, layering components, boots and chunky shoes, deep earth tones and rich color palettes. Think classic autumn patterns and prints: for example, houndstooth, plaid, polka-dots, florals, and pinstripes. This season is all about statement jewelry and accessories.
  • Intro to Harvest: Savoring the last bounties of the crop, storing and canning the excess from the height of the local market, references to the orchard, vineyard, ripening wines, and hints of autumn richness in the air.
  • Full Halloween Preview: Look for introductions to Halloween themes throughout the month of August as we gear up to promote this notoriously creative holiday. Early focuses will touch upon both playful and dark decor, costuming, DIY options, party planning, and the metaphysical side of the celebration.
  • Bath, Beauty & Wellness: Skin and body treatments, activewear, meditation aids, and healthy options for mind and body conscious routines.
  • Home Decor: Similar to the fashion world, autumn decor updates and renovations will debut in August. Think woodland references, natural colors, rich fabrics, the hearth, and played-up textures.
  • Weddings and Celebrations: Summery embellishments, last-minute details and gift options are still relevant to this season’s weddings and celebrations, so make sure these types of products are in stock and ready for expedited shipment requests. Now is the time to plan for and list the autumn/winter/spring essentials of a wedding that brides are sure to be in the midst of planning: announcements, invites, venue details, decor themes, attire, and honeymooning.
  • The Peridot is August’s birthstone, and August’s astrological signs are Leo and Virgo (July 23 – August 23: Leo, August 24 – September 23: Virgo).
  • Seller Holiday Prepping: Summer months are the optimal time to start planning and getting your shop ready for the holiday season. Etsy’s holiday season picks up from October through December. Harvest and Halloween seasons pick up as early as this month, so start stocking up on and listing your holiday offerings now in preparation for the seasonal rush in store.
    • Media Tip: Press outlets begin finalizing their holiday issues and series in the summer. Have your holiday items listed, tagged, and available now for buyers and PR reps looking to pull items for holiday gift guides.

August Trend Forecast and Mainstays:

  • Fashion Runway Report: Fall looks include cargo and military styles, leopard and animal prints, faux furs, minimalistic gray and camel palettes, clean cuts, big silhouettes, a renewed bohemian style and the concept of over-the-top grandeur in the form of loud prints and big jewelry.
  • The World in Sports: The U.S. Tennis Open Tournament at the end of the month will resurrect classic sports gear and tennis references.
  • Halloween: Celebrity references, film and pop culture reinventions, clever costuming plays on words, pet costumes, group options, vampire themes, folk and vintage decor, photobooth props, and the classic color combinations (orange, black, yellow, white, red, green, purple).
  • The Technical World: It’s all about portable gadgets this season and how to accessorize them for function and style. Clever and luxurious plays on gadget cases/carriers and docking solutions for the iPad are topping the list.
  • The Industrial Home: Open floor plans and loft-like spaces accented with industrial era decor elements are making waves across the interior design world. That mix of minimalism, exposed beams, duct work, steel, wire, and glass bulbs lend to the modern-yet-rustic feel. Think about converted farm and factory machinery, railroad equipment, restaurant-ware, stage and commercial office lighting and re-imagining decor uses for salvaged materials from the past.
  • Weekend at the River House: Camping, hiking, boating, fishing, and outdoor excursions. Think vintage retro accessories mixed with modern gear and essentials.
  • The County Fair: Circus and carnival themes, sideshow wonders, animals, bright colors and foods.
  • Personalization: Custom names, initials, monograms, quotes, phrases, fingerprints, and numbers.
  • Natural History: Nature, taxidermy, raw minerals and stones, feathers, foliage, claws, charts, diagrams, bones, antlers, and species.
  • Color Trends: Punches of turquoise, richer earth tones, mustards, cranberry, muted greens, gray and camel solids. Patterns in leopard, bright geometric, houndstooth, pinstripes, and plaid.
If you’d like to stay engaged and involved with the approaching merchandising themes, use them in your own artistic voice as you add to your shop. This can be translated in your listings, photos, shop announcements, descriptions, tags, titles, sales promotions and more. We’re excited to see your creative interpretations!

If you make items that would fit well with the themes outlined, try stocking up and listing them in advance to take advantage of potential shipping deadlines and site features. Do you already have items in your shop that meld well? That’s great! Now it’s time to revisit those items to make sure your tags, titles, and descriptions reflect keywords that shoppers might be looking for this time of year. This is also a great opportunity to revamp your item photography with a new look if you think it needs some work. Check out some great how-to’s for item photography to get started.

If your items fall under the main thematic categories we’ll be highlighting this month, consider purchasing a spot in a Category Showcase. For those of you who enjoy making Treasuries, we’ll be looking to highlight lists that interpret these themes in a creative and cohesive way throughout the site. Please tag your Treasuries accordingly.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

  • August is known as National Golf, Peach, and Picnic month.
  • August 1: Friendship Day
  • August 1: Autumn Holiday (Ireland)
  • August 11: Ramadan begins
  • August 15: Liberation Day (Korea)
  • August 15: India’s Independence day
  • August 16: Chinese Valentine’s Day, also known as The Daughters Festival
  • August 21: National Senior Citizens Day
  • August 30 – September 12: U.S. Tennis Open Tournament
  • August 31: Hari Merdeka (Malaysia)

We’d like to hear from you!
Do you have a date to remember that you don’t see on the list? Let us know in the comments section below. We are currently working towards incorporating a more detailed calendar of international holidays into Etsy’s thematic merchandising plans, so we’re eager to hear which dates you would like to see included. We appreciate your support and look forward to your feedback and suggestions in the comments section below.

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