Thanks for tuning in to the Glossy Podcast. I'm your host Jill Manoff, and today I sit down with Reina Moskowitz, the Chief Operating and Marketing Officer at Etsy, who has been rising up the company's ranks since joining in 2018. At a time when technology is changing everything, Etsy is making big changes to retain its focus on human creativity per some news announced just this week. I wanted to ask Reina about these moves, including how they allow the company to grow and evolve while remaining unique in the retail landscape, and on that note, I also want to inquire about how Etsy is leveraging tech, including AI, to the benefit of its shoppers. Welcome Reina. Thank you so much, Jill, appreciate the intro, and great to be here. So happy you're here. Let's talk your trajectory in the business before we get to in the weeds, even with the company a while, a couple of titles. Talk me through it. Sure. So first, I was actually on Glossy over five years ago, and I've just been reflecting on how much has changed in that period. My role has certainly evolved, and I'll share more about that. And also Etsy has scaled tremendously in terms of the number of shoppers on Etsy, the number of sellers who sell, and so it's just been a really incredible ride. So in terms of how my role has changed, when I first joined Etsy, over six years ago now, I was really focused on our company's strategy and internal operations. And what was so important at the time was for the team and all of our stakeholders to understand where we were going as a company, as a growing company, who were serving, and what success looks like, and how to become a high-performing team. And so it was a really exciting time combining that strategy and internal operations to set our vision and set the company up for success. And a few years in, I took on more of our operations and all of the elements of the marketplace that really ladder up to trust. So think things like payments, or fulfillment, or customer support, all the things that when you're shopping in e-commerce or on a marketplace are really important pillars of a trusted brand. So those are the couple of iterations. And then this recent iteration where we've combined operations and marketing, I couldn't be more excited to be leading our talented marketing organization now and combining those pillars of trust and operations as well as marketing to really ensure that Etsy is top of mind building brand consideration, trust, and loyalty. Yes. So is this kind of a type of restructuring? You're maybe breaking down some silos that may have been in place and everybody's kind of working hand-in-hand, am I understanding it, right? That's exactly right. I often say that really my role is just to break down silos. And we're already seeing so many interesting proof points of what we can do as a combined organization, everything from how Etsy shows up in the world and brand consideration to really making sure that we are both elevating the best items on Etsy with our merchandising team, like the really special, unique inventory, but also keeping the marketplace safe with trust and safety by keeping things who don't meet our policies off the site. And so seeing those teams as an example works side by side, even though they've always collaborated, I just think we're going to unlock a lot of new opportunity for the company. Well, there's been a lot of evolution of the company, like you said. I think of it as being like, for makers, creators, all of this, all this stuff. And that still holds true today. Yes. Tell me about how the marketplace has evolved, who's now selling, who are the big sellers? Yes. So, you know, as I was saying before, so much has changed, whether it's our scale or my role, what has absolutely stayed constant is our mission. And that's to keep commerce human. And so even as Etsy's grown on all dimensions, we remain the home for creativity and self-expression. And so a lot of what we're focused on is how we double down on that experience. And so, you know, when you look across e-commerce today, you see a lot of commoditized goods, mass production. And it's focused on being cheap and fast and free. And we really stand for something different. You know, what differentiates us is our unique inventory made by real people. And so what we're focused on is protecting that magic in our marketplace and those creative items. For sure. Well, we are just going to jump into the news because it all relates. What's happening this week? What is the announcement? Yes. So as I said, you know, we're really trying to differentiate from the rest of e-commerce and other marketplaces, we've scaled tremendously. And what we found during this period is we were hearing a lot from buyers and sellers that they wanted to better understand what belongs on Etsy. What should they be shopping for on Etsy? And what should they be selling on Etsy? And so we were hearing that feedback from our customers. And we realized how important it is to continue to elevate the role of our sellers on Etsy. And so as an example, what we're working on this week and what we're announcing this week is, first and foremost, we're clarifying our policy. And while this doesn't sound sexy, it is incredibly important and foundational to make sure that our sellers understand what belongs on Etsy and what doesn't, and really just clarifying what our policy has always been into what we're calling creativity standards so that we could be more clear what was made by a seller or what was designed by a seller or even sourced or handpicked by a seller. So we have these categories that will make it more intuitive for our sellers and being able to list their items, but importantly, our buyers, who many buyers are newer to Etsy. So they're trying to figure out, well, what should I expect and how do I understand the role that the seller, like I'm shopping on Etsy because I want to buy from a small business or an artist or a maker. And so what role did they play in this process? So we'll be clarifying all of our listings with the role of the seller. So we think this is so important and we're going to top it all off with a very exciting marketing campaign as well to support it. Oh, great. So this will be like a new navigation, new menu items you can choose made by, made by seller or how, what does it look like? So it'll be on the listing item. So when you're looking at the listing detail, you'll see whether it was made by a seller or designed by a seller, sourced by or handpicked. And it'll help you understand whether it's vintage or a craft supply. So it's really about as the first step clarifying in the listing attributes. And so again, we're just getting started here. We think as we see how people respond to this, we'll continue to build on that roadmap and pull it all the way through the product experience. We'll also have a gorgeous new homepage that showcases the work. Oh, fantastic. You mentioned kind of what doesn't, does not belong on Etsy. This will be made clear. Will anything be kind of going away or will just, and what does it belong? Yeah. So it's really important that we're really reorganizing our policies for better clarity. There's nothing new that's going to be allowed on Etsy that's important. We're staying true to our mission. But we want to bring some clarity to it. And so things that are commoditized that they just, they don't belong, we're not the site for that. So really things that were handcrafted or perhaps designed on an iPad and then printed with a partner, like that's a great example as well of what's allowed. So cool. Tell me about your community. You talked about there are new buyers on the site and they may not know all that you do. How is it evolving who's shopping the site today? Yeah. So, you know, when I think back during the pandemic, so many new buyers came to Etsy because we were the only place where you can find a mask, particularly in the early days. And you know, we can, we can chat about that, but it was, you know, a really, a really like interesting time for Etsy, a time where we skilled so quickly. So many people who had never shopped on Etsy before or maybe hadn't even shopped online before were searching for things during this period, starting with masks, but onto home furnishings, office equipment, whatever it was. And so so many people were introduced to Etsy during that period and they might have associated us with one item or one category. And so now we have this opportunity to, to really reestablish the breath of Etsy. So we have a lot of buyers who've shopped in home, home and living or have bought an accessory of some sort. And so the opportunity for us is to take either those same buyers and say, hey, like, look at all of these other things Etsy has to offer or to appeal to new buyers, particularly outside of the US, because in the US and UK, a lot of people have shopped on Etsy already. And so we have an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to people who have already shopped or to attract new buyers globally. Oh, great. So are there any new markets you're targeting in particular? Is it Europe? Yeah. So it's just on Europe and really making sure that cross border is seamless in those markets and that you can easily access inventory that's in your region, shipping times are faster, the quality is high. And so we are focused on Europe. Okay. Great. Can you talk a little bit about what happened during the pandemic? You had all those new customers came to you. Have you retained them and what have they, um, what's been their behavior? Is it? It's entirely new. Yeah. You know, as I mentioned, so many new people shopped on Etsy for the first time and had a great experience. People fell in love with Etsy. I think, um, you know, everyone I talked to, uh, you know, whenever I'm anywhere, people have a story. And in particular, during the pandemic, people experienced Etsy in new ways. And we've been able to retain those customers. We have over 90 million buyers who shop on Etsy globally. And in addition to buyers, we attracted so many new sellers and creative entrepreneurs. And so while the pandemic was an incredibly uncertain time, it actually was a platform that people came to to earn extra income and to take their creative pursuits, you know, when we're in lockdown and earn extra income to join a community and to be part of something bigger. And so we grew not just on the buyer side and retain them, but also on the seller side with over 7 million buyers, sellers globally. And so, um, we sculpt tremendously. And then the number of listings and the amount of things for sale on Etsy also grew tremendously, which is why it's so important for people to understand what belongs on Etsy. Yeah. It makes a lot of sense as people are looking for things that are more special and they're making more thoughtful purchases. And like you said, people are more people looking to make money, even work independently. It's so interesting. Absolutely. And we want to make sure, you know, the bar stays high. We want to make sure that we are delivering like the highest quality, unique items to people shopping. That's what differentiates us. And so, um, that's the work to really elevate the best of Etsy right now. Yes. Is there any form of, um, seller community or maybe that you're helping to fuel and inspire, I guess? Yeah. We have a really engaged seller community. They are active, engaged, they give us feedback. It's a great place for us to listen and communicate with our sellers and for them to learn from each other. You know, that is a really important part of being part of this creative community and a differentiator versus selling on some other platform, you're immediately part of a community. You immediately have access to people searching for creative goods. And we do a lot to foster that community. So we actually have two, um, two community, uh, focused events coming up in the coming months, which I'm so excited about. First is, uh, the Etsy design awards where we feature just, uh, truly talented sellers and their work and the community is very engaged in nominating and voting on them, uh, as well as Etsy up, which is a virtual event for the entire community. That'll be later this year that is really well received and it's a chance for our sellers to learn from experts, to learn how to set up their shops for success, what photography works, how to list their items. And so it's a really great opportunity to come together as a community. Anything top of mind in terms of a success story, um, from one of your sellers, something that, um, I don't know, you point to you as like, this is what is possible. Yeah. I mean, I think about, you know, I actually, I shop on Etsy a lot and, um, so I have a chance to engage with a lot of sellers and there's one seller in particular who comes to mind who we're actually going to be featuring in our marketing campaign coming up. So the campaign that's launching this week is a love letter to our sellers. And it shows the, their craft. It shows the role that they play in making their items and it's really, really beautiful. And so of course we're going to have a TV campaign that's live and it'll run through the Olympics, which is very exciting. We also have a very comprehensive social campaign on every platform, um, and billboards in New York city and London, which I'm so excited about. They're stunning. And why I'm excited about that is that they're going to feature our sellers and they are going to make our sellers like put them into icon status. And I got to meet, uh, one of the sellers who is going to be on a billboard in the middle of Soho in New York and I got to visit her in her studio and it was just this incredible moment like seeing her, she crafts like beautiful wood tables and she's standing there amongst her power tools and just in her element. And I got to reveal the campaign to her and it was one of the highlights of my career. Like anytime I get to connect with sellers, it's very, very important. And just seeing this woman who started her business on Etsy has connected with so many customers and really built her brand and her business and now it's going to be on a billboard in our campaign. And that was, that was a pretty well moment for me. Yeah. For her too. For her for sure. But also it was so beautiful. That's fantastic. Was this in any way this campaign in this news timed to the Olympics because it is such an opportunity with the TV app. It is. It's a really exciting opportunity. It certainly had the Olympics in mind, but really, you know, we just, we've been wanting to do a campaign like this. And as we have been working to ensure the marketplace is safe to elevate the best of Etsy, we felt like it was the right time to really be out there clarifying what we stand for and putting our sellers front and center. Sure, outside of this campaign, talk about your marketing and your strategy and what's worthy of your investment kind of on an ongoing basis. Sure. So I, again, we've got such a talented marketing team. It's been so much fun over the past few months thinking about, you know, how we're going to evolve our marketing strategy. And the team is really excellent at when you know what you're looking for, if you're looking for blue pants, like we are really excellent at serving that up, finding you just the right pair, you convert, you check out, you're happy all as well. But I think that really misses an opportunity to show, as I mentioned before, show the breath of what we have to offer. We have so many items across home and living, clothing, accessories and beyond. And so the opportunity we have right now is both is to take that transactional relationship and turn it into really an engaging customer experience. You know, we also do a great job in driving brand consideration and brand advocacy. So people say, Oh, I love Etsy, you know, you said it to me before we started. I love Etsy. Yeah. So people, I hear it all the time. And so what we want with our marketing strategy is to really drive consideration to say, Oh, I love Etsy and I'm going to start my shopping journey on Etsy. We want Etsy to be the first place you go when you're looking for something special. And so that's the opportunity that we have in front of us and where we're really focused to do more than just show you a specific item, to do more than just tell you what we stand for in a big way, but really to say, Hey, if you're decorating your house or if you're looking to, you know, update your wardrobe for the spring, whatever it is like that, that you think of Etsy first. And so we've got a number of ways that we're going to be doing it that I'm, I'm very excited about, but, but excited to really deepen the relationship with our customers. You know, gifting has been a big focus for us this year. It's always been important to Etsy. People come to us certainly for the holidays, but we went pretty big with gifting messages in the beginning of this year. We launched a new product feature called gift mode and a few other features since. And it's really to, to make gifting easy, sometimes gifting can be overwhelming. And so, you know, I also guarantee that, that everyone has someone they should be getting a gift for right now. So like, if you really stop and think about it, there's probably someone in your life you might need to be getting a gift for. And it's not just about, you know, the holiday season. And so we thought gifting was a really important way to keep Etsy top of mind in more moments throughout the year and to really build that brand association and we're seeing that start to work, which is very exciting. And we also, is there, on that note, sorry interrupt, is on that note, is it like, are we talking kind of searchable for gifty and for, I don't know, occasion, things like that? Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, making it easy based on the occasion or based on who you're shopping for. One of my favorite features of gift mode is being able to create a gift list as an example. So even if like, even if you don't need to buy it in that moment, like as you're browsing on Etsy and favoriting items, you could create a wishlist for someone and also set a reminder. This is very important because I'm always scrambling at the last minute to find a gift. And so you can also set reminders so that, so that you don't have to wait till the last minute to find that gift. So we're seeing a lot of adoption of these features and I think it's going to be just a great way to build that habit loop for customers to keep us top of mind and certainly for gifting moments throughout the year come to Etsy. For sure. We're going to mention like a third marketing push before I interrupt it. Yeah. I think, you know, another, another area that we're really focused, you know, is around, as I mentioned, frequency. So so many people shop on Etsy and given the breadth and depth of what we offer, like, there are so many moments throughout the year, you should be shopping on Etsy. And so there's an opportunity to drive frequency with our customers and deepen our relationship. And we think our app is a really important foundation to building that customer retention. And you know, our app is incredibly engaging. It allows us an opportunity to communicate with you directly. And so we're also really focused on our buyers, ensuring they have the app for the best Etsy experience. Okay. Great. Huh. I'm like, do I have the Etsy app? Maybe I need it. Yes. You do need it. Everyone listening needs it. Yes. It's a large investment going to work, which I think I would think in your case, it would be very beneficial, like Google search actually with the new search tools. And if somebody's popping in, like, I'm looking for a bed, like I told you, like a bed that they want, and you can, like, maybe somebody would opt for the homemade, not homemade, that sounds so, you know, anyway, the version that's very unique, we'll say. But yeah. Is that working for you? Yeah. It does. It's been a really important part of our growth. And that, you know, when I referenced, like, being able to serve up exactly what you're looking for. If you're searching for a bed, Etsy shows up, we've got incredible listings and it is a big part of our marketing portfolio and growth. But I do think it's important to make sure that we continue to diversify our, you know, how we show up in the world for our customers as well through a number of channels. So, you know, people spend so much time on social platforms as an example, which is just a great way to tell a bit more of a story, to introduce you to our sellers, to share a bit more about all that we have to offer versus just the one item you have in mind. Smart. I mean, do I have to say AI, like, it's all interconnected with showing you what's personalized and what you're looking for. But like, when you talk about AI and leveraging kind of emerging technologies, like, where do you see the most opportunity? Yeah. I think Etsy is really going to benefit from leveraging AI throughout how we operate and the customer experience. I do believe, given our vast, vast platform, over 120 items for sale, and these are items that are unique. They don't have, you know, SKUs or barcodes. And so it's a real opportunity to lean into AI. So the team is experimenting a lot here, both thinking about internal use cases. So how to make our engineers even more effective or customer support agents as an example. But also in the customer experience too, how do we better serve our customers? How do we even improve the results that we show you and have a bit more of a conversation with you with conversational search and generative AI as an example? So we think that it's going to definitely be exciting to continue to experiment with. And the real magic is going to be when you combine generative AI and humans and our team. And so one of my favorite examples is the work of our merchandising team, training our models for gift mode as an example to show you the best gifts. And so we think that's really where, you know, where we're going to be able to keep commerce human, leverage it as a new tool and capability combined with the power of our team. We think that's going to, you'll like really, really great results for our customers. We're going to take a quick break. Stay with us. So I have to ask you, Etsy has had several acquisitions. Well, the one that stands out in my mind is Depop. Has that changed like Etsy's operations and what, how you're working? Are there, I don't know, collaboration across teams in any way right now? Yeah. There are certainly a few functions that are integrated, particularly, you know, in internal operations where they work really closely together. What's been so exciting is really learning from each other. And so there have been so many parts of Etsy's growth that the Depop team as an example has been able to learn from and apply, even though their scale is very different than ours. And you know, they're in a different stage of growth, but they've been able to learn from us and we've been able to learn from them as well. I really love all the work that they're doing in marketing as an example. And so it's really great to be able to share ideas, to run things by each other and learn from each other. Yes. I think of them as resonating with Gen Z, is that we're kind of marketing and reaching a younger audience? Is that where you're kind of tapping into? Absolutely. Absolutely. And community as well. I think, you know, what makes Depop so special is their community. And so, yeah, those are definitely the areas where we spend the most time learning from each other. So when you're navigating, oh my God, international shipping, shipping in general, I'm sure you're dealing with returns, like what is, that's a lot to, when it comes to seller to seller and all, I mean, seller to buyer anyway. What's the biggest challenge in terms of overseeing, like logistics and that side of things? Or just, that's kind of, I don't know, everything's under your purview, but your current challenges as you see it, kind of the main, the main thing. Yeah. You know, we've really improved our operations over the past several years. And one of the areas that I'm really excited about is Etsy Purchase Protection as an example. So we've been able to ensure that every item you understand when it's going to ship, when you can expect it, where it is in its journey, no matter where in the world you're shopping from, and also that it's going to arrive on time. These are things that when I think back to five years ago, six years ago, like that was not happening all the time. And so I'm really proud of the work the team has done there. And I know it sounds like table stakes in some way, and especially when the expectations are so high. But as you mentioned, when you're buying from, you know, a seller around the world, you know, there's a lot of variability. And so the team has done a great job leveling up that part of the customer experience. And we stand behind it. You know, if something goes wrong and the rare case something goes wrong, you know, we have Etsy Purchase Protection and a delivery date guarantee during the holiday. So we're really proud of how we've been able to take, you know, sort of operations and make it strategic and elevate our brand. Is Q4 the biggest sales period for you like other retailers? Yes. So Q4 is always really important for Etsy. In fact, you know, we often say everything we do throughout the year at Etsy leads up to the holiday period. It's the most important time of year for our sellers and for our buyers, and the stakes are high. We want to deliver a great holiday experience. And so as I think about, you know, the months leading up and there's only a few more to go, we make sure that everything, all of our new features get launched in advance, whether it's for buyers or sellers, because we don't want to disrupt them during the holiday period. And we want to keep leading with our sellers, elevating the role in the making process and gifting. Since that's a really big focus for us, you know, we'll continue to be very loud about that as well. We know the holidays can be stressful. And so we want, we want to take the stress out of shopping. We want to make it really easy to find that perfect gift. And so excited to keep leaning into that in the coming months. As Etsy dabbled in live streaming in any way, I would just, is that coming? We tested a concept there. I have a lot of heart for it. I think there are a few players who are doing it really well. We tested Etsy Market Live last year. And I think we could continue to experiment there. It's not our primary focus right now, but it is a focus to make sure, you know, we have millions of videos on Etsy as an example. So a lot of times when you are looking at an item, like the seller's uploaded a video of it. And so we see that, we see that buyers really engage with that. And it's a great driver of trust and conversion. And so we think that's an important part of the shopping experience as well. For sure. Who do you consider your competitors? You know, I think it's more about what our consumers expect from us. So, you know, when you think about e-commerce, there's certainly Amazon and Walmart, Target, eBay, but it really depends on what you're looking for. We play in so many different categories that it's a little bit category dependent. But again, we're trying to differentiate from all of that. And, you know, when everyone is accustomed to the lowest price, the fastest shipping, like, we're trying to stand for something special. And the work that we're doing, certainly in this launch with our brand mission campaign is to remind people of that. And I think as people experience more and more of that mass production, that commoditized experience, like the more they're going to crave Etsy. And so that is what we are doubling down on. It's our sellers and their unique items. And we think that this mission is both urgent and important. Are you because a lot of our audience fashion folks, when it comes to, like, those sellers who are sorcerers and they're sourcing kind of luxury goods and the whole authenticity element comes into play, talk a little bit about that and what's happening there. Yeah. So, you know, you could find gorgeous items on Etsy made. I actually, oh my gosh, I just bought this gorgeous bag, hand woven from a seller based in Turkey and I wore it to an event and I got so many compliments. I was so proud to say I got it on Etsy and then the seller actually reached out to me afterwards saying that I had been her first sale and it was this really special experience. But I felt, you know, just really, really proud wearing this gorgeous item, knowing that it was made from an artist. And so I think we do an amazing job elevating that type of good. And to your point, you know, we have amazing vintage items on Etsy. And so, you know, so savvy shoppers know that you can find amazing and teeth items on Etsy, vintage items on Etsy. We don't, we don't authenticate items. So, you know, you're buying directly from the seller. We don't have warehouses, we don't play a role there. But again, we have Etsy purchase protection. And so, you know, if something goes wrong in that transaction, we have your back. And so that's a big investment that we've made over the years. And we do have gorgeous vintage items from a number of brands. And so that's definitely a category that we care deeply about. For sure. Well, I feel like when you are positioning your sellers as celebrities in this campaign, you're just going to anyway, you're setting yourself up for success. Who doesn't want to be in your campaign? But tell me about your 2024 goals and what you're looking forward to this year beyond beyond this big news. Yeah. So this, you know, this big news is certainly an important moment that we'll continue to build on. It's really just putting the stake in the ground about what we stand for and reminding the world of that in a time when it's so important to stand for keeping commerce human. And so that's step one. As I mentioned, you know, we're continuing to focus on gifting not just the holiday season, but every moment in between Mother's Day, Father's Day, graduation, Halloween, there's so many moments where, you know, teacher appreciation, there's so many moments throughout the year. So we're going to keep leaning into gifting, making it easier. We're going to keep showing the best items on Etsy. So again, I think, you know, all of our marketing is so important, but what's equally important is when you come to shop on Etsy that you find the best, highest quality items, things that you're going to love. And so we're working to make sure that that's what shows up throughout the experience and ensuring that our sellers are set up for success. So all of the work we're doing with seller community to make sure they're set up for a great holiday season as well. I mean, gifting, you guys have the best cards. I'm just saying. I think so too. The team is going to laugh. I always talk about our greeting cards. And yes, and so I think so too. They're particularly popular in the UK, but we have gorgeous and funny greeting cards. And I tell the team all the time that we need to make sure that that's part of the gifting journey as well and gift cards and gift cards too. Yeah. So actually one of the elements of the gifting experience that I'm so excited about, historically, you know, people have thought, Oh, Etsy, it's going to take such a long time. I can't wait. I have to buy something that's going to ship faster. And not only, as I mentioned, have we improved our shipping speeds and reliability, but we offer gift cards that are beautiful and we have gift teaser, which is a new feature as well. So you could send a video message to someone on Etsy, letting them know and you could even reveal the gift to them in advance. So letting them know the gift is on the way. So we have so many new ways to make sure that, you know, you can buy something special and personalized and you don't have to worry that it's not going to be there on time. So we are not only a destination for gifting, but also last minute gifting. That's really good to know. Hey, and fun stuff. I love all of these. All the newness. Reina, this has been an awesome thank you for being here. Thank you for joining me. Thank you so much for having me. It's so exciting to be here on behalf of the team who's doing such amazing work on behalf on our seller community as well. Thank you. Thank you. That's all for this episode. Our theme music is by Otis McDonald. If you liked this episode, be sure to share it with someone else you think would. Thanks for listening to the glossy podcast. [Music] (upbeat music)
