A drop in visits to your shop or sales can mean any number of things, such as increased competition, changing trends, a shift in purchasing behavior, and more.
There may also be issues with your shop that result in your items appearing lower in Etsy search results, such as:
- Your listings have quality issues
- Your shop is missing an icon
- Your customer service needs improvement
If your stats show a significant dip year over year, you may be looking at a short time frame, such as a month, which won’t give you the most accurate idea of how your shop is performing. Longer time frame data, like year over year data, helps you see larger trends in your business.
If you’re seeing a drop in your sales year over year, there are several things to look at to boost your sales.
Improve your listing quality
Listing quality is an important factor in getting found in Etsy search. Learn how to optimize your shop for Etsy search.
Your Stats page is a great place to start when figuring out how to improve your listing performance. On your Stats page, you can track which keywords are generating the most traffic to your listings, and be sure to replace keywords that aren’t generating traffic with new ones.
Your Listings manager shows any listing quality issues, such as:
- A blurry or low quality main photo
- A main photo that’s too dark
- Too few photos
- A main photo that is a collage
- A category that is not specific enough
- A lack of a return policy (even if the policy is “no returns”)
- Has a shipping price that is too high (US sellers only)
These issues may result in your listings appearing lower in search results. Learn more about Etsy Customer service standards.
Follow retail trends
Trends change over the years. To ensure that your Etsy Shop is performing the way you want it to, pay attention to the trends on Etsy and elsewhere online. Research shows that the most successful sellers on Etsy are also the most innovative in keeping up with new trends, and crafting a product line that is adaptable to the ever-changing nature of buyer behavior.
Read our Holiday 2021 Trend Guide and the Etsy Blog to learn what our trend experts think is the next big thing.
Learn how to refresh your product line.
Market your shop
Social media is a great way to promote your shop and engage with customers for free. You can also get your items in front of more buyers by using advertising to boost your visibility on Etsy and around the web.
Learn how to boost your sales with social media marketing.
Learn more about using your stats to pinpoint how to boost sales.
Learn how advertising can help boost your sales.
Connect with other sellers sharing marketing tips and best practices in the Community Forums.
Ask other sellers for a shop critique
Not sure what you need to do to improve your shop? Ask your fellow sellers in the Community Forums for advice. There’s an active shop critique community that can help.
Remember that Etsy relies on you, our Etsy sellers, to succeed. Every change we make on Etsy.com is to help our sellers make more sales. When you succeed, Etsy succeeds.
Sign up for seller emails
Etsy provides tips and important information for sellers through our email lists. We recommend you sign up for all of them so you don’t miss out on any guidance to help you succeed. Learn how to subscribe to Etsy emails.
We’ll send you news about Etsy features, comprehensive shop insights, and advice from other sellers that can help you better understand your sales.
Sign up for an Etsy U course
Enroll in an Etsy U course for tips on running a successful shop.
A drop in visits to your shop or sales can mean any number of things, such as increased competition, changing trends, a shift in purchasing behavior, and more.
If your stats show a significant dip, you may be looking at a short time frame, such as a month, which won’t give you the most accurate idea of how your shop is performing. Longer time frame data, like year over year data, helps you see larger trends in your business.
Etsy Support can’t offer tailored advice about running your business. Our Seller Handbook has key information to help you run a successful Etsy shop. This holiday season, prepare your shop with tips from our Ultimate Guide to Holiday.
If you’re seeing a drop in your sales year over year, try these tips that may help to boost your sales:
When a shopper searches for an item on Etsy, Etsy’s search algorithm works to return the most relevant matches. Search results are unique to the shopper searching on Etsy. This means that trying to search for your own items isn’t a true indicator of your items’ performance in search results. Learn more about how Etsy search works.
Sellers control the most important factors in Etsy Search placement: tags and titles, attributes, quality, and customer service.
Your Listings manager shows any listing quality issues, such as:
- A blurry or low quality main photo
- A main photo that’s too dark
- Too few photos
- A main photo that is a collage
- A category that is not specific enough
- A lack of a return policy (even if the policy is “no returns”)
- Has a shipping price that is too high (US sellers only)
These issues may result in your listings appearing lower in search results. Learn more about Etsy Customer service standards.
Trends change over time. To ensure that your Etsy Shop is performing the way you want it to, it may be helpful to pay attention to the trends on Etsy and elsewhere online. Keeping up with new trends and crafting a product line that is adaptable to the ever-changing nature of buyer behavior may help improve your shop’s sales.
Social media is a great way to promote your shop and engage with customers. Learn how to boost your sales with social media marketing.
Learn more about using your stats to pinpoint how to boost sales.
Not sure what you need to do to improve your shop? Ask your fellow sellers in the Community Forums for advice. There’s an active shop critique community that can help. Sellers who have experience in your specific market can likely help you with tailored advice.