Sales on Etsy Inc., an online marketplace for handcrafted goods, grew 20.4% in the second quarter ended June 30, compared with the same period a year ago.
Etsy, No. 13 in the Internet Retailer Online Marketplaces database, on Monday reported gross merchandise sales, or the total value of goods transacted on the marketplace, of $901.69 million in Q2, up from $748.76 million in Q2 2017. Not including the impact of currency exchange rates, Etsy says gross merchandise sales increased 19.3%.
Etsy’s total revenue, which it receives from listing fees, seller services and commissions on sales, grew to $132.39 million, up 30.2% from $101.69 million.
Net income was $3.38 million for the quarter, down 71.0% from $11.67 million. Etsy says the significant decline is due to foreign exchange fluctuations and a tax benefit recorded last year due to employee stock-option exercises.
The marketplace has 1.98 million active sellers, up 8.1% from a year ago, and 35.83 million buyers, up 17.2% from 2017.
Aggregate conversion rate growth increased for the third consecutive quarter on desktop, mobile web and app, Etsy says without providing more details on conversion rate figures.
In the quarter, Etsy announced the seller transaction fee would increase to 5%, up from 3.5%. The new transaction fee went into effect on July 16. The marketplace raised its fees so that it will be able to increase marketing spend to attract buyers, Etsy said at the time of the announcement.
Also in July, the marketplace announced a referral agreement with DaWanda, a Germany-based marketplace for gifts and handmade items. The agreement means when DaWanda shuts down its site on Aug. 30 this year, it will encourage its sellers and active buyers to migrate to Etsy.
For the first six months of the year, Etsy’s gross merchandise sales grew 20.1% to $1.762 billion from $1.467 billion. Total revenue grew 27.6% to $253.30 million from $198.58 million.
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