Etsy's revenue has more than tripled, from 818 million dollars in 2019 until 2.75 billion dollars in 2023. And as its revenue grows, so do the platform's investments in technology. Etsy spent 470 million dollars last year for research and development – a high record.
“I think Etsy is uniquely positioned to take advantage of AI,” Etsy CFO Rachel Glaser said Wednesday. interview with Bloomberg. “Finding that needle in the haystack is tricky—that's part of what makes Etsy fun and frustrating for people. Being able to serve the good stuff to the top faster is where AI can benefit us indeed.”
Related: How to Sell on Etsy: A Comprehensive Guide
How Etsy is using AI
HE now customize product searches on Etsy to increase the chances that a buyer will purchase an item. It also gives buyers more accurate delivery times and generate gift guides.
Glaser pointed to Etsy's spending on artificial intelligence and other technologies like cloud computing as key to laying the groundwork for more growth. Moving company data to the cloud from on-premise servers, for example, resulted in “10 times the amount of traffic“, Glaser said. Etsy's machine learning tools processed data stored in the cloud faster than data stored locally, leading to an increase in traffic.
The interview also revealed that Etsy doubled the number of active shoppers during the pandemic, with sales of face masks driving growth. According to Bloomberg estimates, Etsy sold $750 million worth of masks in 2020, and the company was able to keep the customers driving those sales even after the pandemic ended.
Related: Did HE do it? Etsy makes it easier to tell if a seller used AI to create a product
Etsy has recently taken steps to differentiate AI-generated products and designs from human-made ones. Platform Set “Standards of Creativity” in July that only allow sellers to list products that they have made, designed, sourced or handpicked.
Etsy had over 91 million active buyers since then most recent income reportan increase of 1% year on year.