Etsy CEO Stands by Strategy to Compete with Amazon

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Etsy CEO Stands by Strategy to Compete with Amazon
14 Apr 2022
4 min read

News Synopsis

Etsy's CEO Josh Silverman defends the company's strategy of becoming a competitive online shopping destination with Amazon.com Inc, and recent moves that haven't been popular with some sellers are in the long run. 

More than 20,000 sellers on the digital marketplace have signed a petition against the company’s decision to raise the commission it charges on each transaction to 6.5% from 5%. Some sellers have even closed their shops in protest.

Founded in 2005, Etsy had an active buyer base with about 90 million buyers last year. The company has emerged as one of the biggest pandemic winners and has benefited from many shoppers going online. Last year's product sales on Etsy were about $12.2 in merchandise sales, compared to $5 billion in 2019.

Some of the shop owners said that many sellers are violating company rules against hawking mass-produced items. Josh Silverman said that the company is investing in artificial intelligence and is scaling its team of agents responsible for ferreting out listings that violate the company’s policies.

Protesting sellers want the company to scarp its Star Seller program. According to sellers, the program makes it harder to have the flexibility they expect as small business owners because Etsy determines the metrics for success. 

TWN Special