Could Etsy Be The Real E-Commerce Winner On Black Friday?

“Oh great, another e-commerce company”, I hear you groan. Or maybe the groaning is due to all that turkey you ate yesterday? Whatever the reason, you should hear me out.

Now, I’ll admit that I am not the biggest fan of Etsy’s service — mostly because I’m still waiting on a holiday present for a family member, who I won’t mention because they (hopefully) read this newsletter  — but that doesn’t mean I’m not a fan of their business. And boy, business is a-boomin’. 

Not content to sit back and let Amazon steal the show on Black Friday, Etsy is going all in: 

• Offering discounts of up to 60% from the 25th of November until 2nd of December.
• Has more than 3.7 million  active sellers. 
• Website visits increased by 5% month-over-month in October to 359 million.
• Sales grew by 128% year-over-year last quarter

I think, as an investor, I can forgive my one missing present when I see numbers like this.

Is Black Friday a big deal?

Yes, especially as it lasts all weekend right through to ‘Cyber Monday’. 

Last year, Black Friday broke records with $7.4 billion spent on online sales in the U.S. This year, it looks like this will be dwarfed — unfortunately at the expense of brick-and-mortar stores, as people move their shopping online amid the pandemic.

But why am I singling out Etsy? Simply because it is the ‘home-grown’ and ‘authentic’ e-commerce option for buyers. 

In a year that has been decimating to small stores and suppliers, Etsy can make shoppers feel like they are at least contributing to local merchants and small businesses, instead of funding Jeff Bezos’ seemingly unencumbered march towards global domination.

And in many ways, Etsy is shopping local as it is predominantly made of small-business merchants flogging their wares on a platform that only takes 5% of the cut. You can read more about how Etsy makes money via our blog here.

Another point to make, and an important one, is what is popular right now:: 

• Locally produced
• Vegan 
• Organic 
• Reused materials

You know what all of these have in common? Etsy is providing a one-stop shop for all things related to them. 

Etsy is on a tear and is up almost 250% since it was added to the MyWallSt app approximately one year ago, but don’t be surprised if this Black Friday is the catalyst the stock needs to make the next leap in its growth.

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MyWallSt operates a full disclosure policy. MyWallSt staff currently hold long positions in companies mentioned above. Read our full disclosure policy here.