From Etsy’s Merchandising Desk: April 2012

Etsy.com handmade and vintage goods
marymary

Story by marymary

Published on Apr 05, 2012 in Seller Handbook

Our aim with Etsy merchandising is to create a healthy balance between promotions for traditional holidays, seasonal changes, cultural events, and lifestyle trends. If you’d like to stay engaged with upcoming merchandising themes, use your own artistic voice to translate them into shop listings, photos, shop announcements, descriptions, tags, titles, sales promotions and more.

Promotional Opportunities for Sellers:

  1. Treasury Tip: Create and label treasuries matching seasonal themes for a chance to have your collection featured on Etsy’s homepage or linked to from promotional emails and shopping pages.
  2. Press Tip: Media publications are currently working on their long lead stories for fall 2012. Increase your chances of landing a print feature by making your seasonal collections available now.

Themes to Plan for:
Our central merchandising themes this month focus on spring, fashion, weddings, and Mother’s Day. This emphasizes the seasonality of the Northern Hemisphere, but it’s important to remember that it is fall in the Southern Hemisphere. Maintaining seasonally appropriate options year-round is good practice for boosting international and overall sales.

  • Easter: With Easter Sunday falling in early April, now is the time to state any expedited shipping and local delivery/pickup options clearly within your item descriptions to take advantage of last-minute sales.
  • Spring: Bright spring colors, fashion, spring cleaning, outdoor activities, seasonal holidays and spring breaks.
  • Earth Day: Falling on the 22nd this month, Earth Day celebrates the environment and all the things we can do to be kind to the earth. Think in terms of reclaiming, recycling, upcycling, eco and environmentally friendly solutions, planting, conservation and energy savers.
  • Gardening: It’s spring planting time. Consider indoor, outdoor and urban gardens, tools, aprons and gloves, plant markers and signs, containers, vertical solutions, heirloom seeds and composting.
  • Fashion: Spring looks that can transition into summer — think light layers and bright accessories. Take advantage of spring break and vacation season by offering your lines of swim, beach and resort wear now. Tagging Tip: Try adding the term “fashion” to appropriate items to reach a broader shopping audience.
  • Weddings: Wedding season is in full swing; determine how your line of goods could expand into wedding offerings and tag accordingly if appropriate.
  • Prom, Parties and Glam: Party-style dresses, vintage frocks, and the glamourous accessories to complete the perfect look. Also trending: makeup, false eyelashes, nail polish and stickers, and hair pins.
  • Mother’s Day: April signifies the start to Mother’s Day shopping. Think in terms of gift ideas incorporating personalization. Other popular gift categories include cards, vases, bath and spa sets, jewelry, fashion accessories, smartphone accessories, edible gift sets and creative takes on family portraits.
  • Intro to Graduation: College and university graduations take place in early to mid-May while high school ceremonies usually take place in early to mid-June. Think in terms of keepsake gifts, personalization, milestone achievements, and innovative ways to present cash gifts. Don’t forget about those end of the year gift ideas for teachers, too.
  • Seasonal Escapes: Offerings for seasonal destinations: spring breaks, resorts, beaches, cruises, and ski excursions, along with appropriate luggage, travel gear, fashion, and gadgets.
  • Birthdays: April’s birthstone is diamond; star signs include Aries and Taurus (March 21 – April 20: Aries, April 21 – May 20: Taurus).

April’s Trends:

  • Gardening: Planters, vertical solutions, tools, garden markers, heirloom seed varieties, compost bins, terrariums, bird and bee houses.
  • Gadget Accessories: Innovative gadget cases, docking stations, speakers, amplifiers and accessories, especially geared around the iPhone 4S, iPad and Kindle Fire.
  • References to Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Mad Men & Alice in Wonderland — all trending in pop culture. Think in terms of symbols like arrows, birds, wizardry, magic, enchanted forests, rabbits, whimsy and mid century modern fashion and decor.
  • Vintage Fashion and Decor: With the return of Mad Men‘s season 5, expect to see inspired vintage collections trending once again.
  • Weddings: Engagement rings, both handcrafted and antique. Vintage, retro and rockabilly references, photobooths and props, fan programs, Mad Libs, personalized wine labels, fingerprint guest books, DIY decorations, and creative takes on the little details from save the dates all the way to favors.
  • Nails: lacquers, polishes and stickers.
  • Infinity Styles: Rings, scarves, bracelets & necklaces.
  • Sports: Time for baseball season, hockey playoffs and golf: The Masters! Think in terms of teams, colors, and sportsmanship.
  • Organization and Storage: Spring cleaning! Fresh solutions for getting organized.
  • Personalization: Gift ideas with monograms, initials, text, numbers, zodiac, constellations, portraits, custom labels, stamps, fingerprints and family trees.
  • Cottage: Chic decor and accessories.
  • Home: Window curtains, drapes, shower curtains, bedding and hardware.
  • Fashion: Spring basics and accessories, lighter layers, leggings, and bright colors.
  • Culinary Trends: DIY culinary kits are on the rise. Classic cocktails, homebrewing, beer and wine accessories, herb infusions and kits, garden to table.
  • Designer Vintage: Authentic fashion, collectibles, bikes and auto accessories.
  • Letters, Numbers, and Symbols: Large vintage signage, letterpress blocks, monogram housewares and typewriter keys.
  • Natural History: Woodland forest themes and animals, birds, owls, squirrels, hedgehogs, chipmunks, bunnies, butterflies, feathers, nests, eggs, acorns, leaves, trees, branches, woodgrain, and natural colors.
  • Lockets, secret hiding places, skeleton keys, arrows, diamonds, paper cuts, silhouettes, fortune cookies, wishbones, constellations, fortune telling.
  • Large scale vintage and handmade paper maps, botanical and anatomy charts.
  • Upcycled lights, lamps, exposed bulbs, and chandeliers.
  • Vintage cameras, especially Polaroids with film.
  • Bike caddies, baskets, and creative accessories.
  • Embellished, painted & customizable shoes.
  • Video game-inspired references
  • Writable chalkboard surfaces
  • Designed Fabric Yardage
  • Wall and laptop decals
  • The little black dress
  • Mermaids
  • Ear cuffs

If you make items that 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 match? That’s great! Revisit those items to make sure your tags, titles and descriptions reflect keywords that shoppers might be looking for during this time of year. This is also a great opportunity to revamp your item photography. Check out some great how-to’s on item photography to get started. For those who enjoy making treasury lists, we’ll be looking to highlight lists that interpret these themes in a creative and cohesive ways. Please tag your treasuries accordingly.

Upcoming Dates to Remember

  • April is known as: International Guitar Month and National Poetry Month (U.K.)
  • April 1: April Fools
  • April 2: Children’s Book Day
  • April 5-8: Masters Golf Tournament in Augusta
  • April 4: Ching Ming Festival (Hong Kong)
  • April 6 – 14: Passover
  • April 6: Good Friday
  • April 8: Easter Sunday
  • April 11-15: Pictoplasma Festival, Berlin. 
  • April 12 – 14: Grand National (U.K.)
  • April 17: Tax Deadline
  • April 22: Earth Day
  • April 23: St George’s Day
  • April 25: Anzac Day (Australia)
  • April 27: Freedom Day (South Africa)
  • April 27: Arbor Day
  • April 30: Queen’s Day (Netherlands)
  • April 30 – May 4: 2012 Australian Fashion Week

Have a date to remember that you don’t see on the list? Let us know in the comments section below.

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