Performance Marketing and Buyer Reactivation
Etsy's largest marketing investment is in performance marketing — paid search, social media advertising, and display advertising — designed to acquire new buyers and reactivate lapsed buyers who have not purchased recently. The reactivation focus reflects the strategic priority of converting the large pandemic-era buyer cohort into habitual shoppers through targeted reminders of Etsy's catalog breadth and personalized product recommendations based on previous browsing and purchase behavior.
Brand Marketing and Emotional Positioning
Etsy invests in brand marketing campaigns that reinforce its positioning as the marketplace that keeps commerce human — emphasizing the stories behind handmade goods, the makers who create them, and the emotional value of owning something made by a real person with intention. These campaigns, typically deployed through television, streaming video, and social media, target the growing consumer sentiment that mass-market retail has become impersonal and that supporting independent makers is a meaningful purchasing choice.