Why Do Etsy Stores Fail? 6 Things to Avoid

Etsy shops are excellent ways for independent artists to make money and expand their consumer base. However, their success isn’t guaranteed. Many Etsy stores fail because they make these crucial mistakes in the weeks and months after they open.

1. Poor Product Descriptions

When someone searches for a product on Etsy, the website searches for relevant results based on product descriptions. If your shop sells embroidered tea towels and that phrase or others like it isn’t in each product description, your shop won’t shop up in search results. You can also include category tags in the details beneath each product listing.

2. Low-Quality Pictures

Blurry or crooked photos indicate that a product is low-quality. If an artist doesn’t care about showing off their work, they might not care about making something high-quality in the first place. Use a professional camera and set up a lightbox to create the perfect photos of everything you need to list in your shop.

3. Not Enough Inventory

Inventory problems can end an Etsy shop before it gets a chance to begin. You’ll need to maintain an inventory to maintain sales. Running out of your products and being unable to replace them will cause people to forget about your shop.

Etsy artists should also show their inventory status on each product, which requires frequent updates. When potential customers see that a product is low in inventory, they’ll feel increased pressure to purchase it while it’s still available. However, this only works if there’s inventory to buy.

4. Little to No Marketing

People can find your shop on Etsy by looking up your shop’s names or the product types, but that may not be enough. Artists don’t have great experiences on Etsy when they arrive with no consumer base or marketing plan.

The first step in making a marketing plan is understanding your audience. Think about their age groups and find where they spend their time on the internet to reach them more effectively. Scheduling posts on social media sites and linking to your shop will drive traffic as part of your marketing plan.

5. Shabby Customer Service

People will reach out occasionally with questions about your shop, your shipping or the items they received. Etsy stores fail when they don’t respond quickly or solve the problem at hand. Those unhappy customers then leave negative reviews, which turns future customers away.

Send replies to inquiries with a positive tone. After solving a problem, follow up with your customer to demonstrate personal care. Even if they had a bad experience, excellent customer service could pull them back for future purchases and help your shop stay open. 

6. Non-Existent Business Strategies

Every business needs a strategy to meet goals and achieve growth. Think about what you want your Etsy shop to accomplish in its first month, quarter and year. Do you want to focus on reaching a specific number of sales, followers or reviews? Maybe you want to slowly add products to your inventory when your customer base reaches certain milestones.

The best business strategies factor risks and failures into their goals as well. If part of your operating method isn’t working, you’ll have backup plans ready to mitigate financial loss or pauses in inventory until you can solve the issue.

Keep Your Etsy Store From Failing

Etsy stores fail when creators don’t learn about common mistakes like these. Think about what you want to achieve with your online shop, set goals and create backup plans for growing pains. When those factors are in place and you’ve thought about how to avoid issues like these, you’ll find great success in any Etsy niche.