Etsy's Competitive Edge Is Durable; Per User Spend Is the Billion Dollar Question

Etsy has carved out an interesting competitive niche, jockeying for e-commerce wallet share across a variety of heterogeneous verticals in the long tail of unbranded products. The firm’s four marketplace properties—Etsy, Reverb, Depop, and Elo7—all target non-commoditized inventories (artisanal crafts, used musical instruments, and vintage clothing resale), generate commissions on third-party, peer to peer sales, and strive to create a “treasure hunt” experience around a unique, customizable, and consequently less price elastic product suite.