Hype Alert: Etsy Embraces AI for a Hyper-Personalized Shopping Experience
Etsy Utilizes AI to Amplify Individualized Shopping Experience
Hey there! Etsy's shaking things up with some smart tech moves, folks. In a recent earnings call, company executives shared their plans to leverage AI for emails, push notifications, and customized homepages. And guess what? It's all about making your Etsy journey as personalized and smooooth as possible.
Josh Silverman, Etsy's CEO, shared that adding personalized homepages nearly doubled user engagement. The company even tested using AI to churn out unique, tailor-made marketing materials during the quarter. Impressive, right?
In Q1, the number of buyers converting on Etsy's app increased year over year, and there was an upward trend in monthly active users and app downloads for newcomers. But what's really got everyone buzzing is Etsy's AI-driven efforts to create a stronger customer relationship cycle. Silverman explained, "We're fashioning a robust customer experience where what a user sees first is based on their activity."
So, what exactly does Etsy mean by this? Well, the company is using AI to create a self-reinforcing cycle, where personalized browsing and discovery journeys generate more data, which the AI uses to offer deeper personalization, driving engagement and frequency over time. This strategy is known as the "customer relationship flywheel."
Etsy reported consolidated revenue of $651.2 million for the first quarter, a minor 0.8% increase year over year. While GMS (gross merchandise sales) dropped nearly 9% year over year, and active buyers fell 3.4% to 88.5 million, the focus seems to be on deepening relationships with existing users.
To further its AI endeavors, Etsy is collaborating with third-party AI-based shopping platforms. For example, the company is participating in a research preview of OpenAI's Operator, an AI agent designed to carry out web-based tasks like ordering a totally unique, personalized mug on your behalf. Etsy has also enabled in-app purchases for Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot.
In the future, Etsy aims to continue creating more tailored browsing and discovery experiences. So, you can look forward to that intriguing mug showing up at the top of your homepage - all thanks to some clever AI!
Oh, and did you know Etsy's been using AI for a while now to improve various consumer-facing aspects of its marketplace? The company has even dabbled in using AI for creating alt text for images, summarizing product reviews, enhancing accessibility, and better predicting delivery dates. The possibilities are endless!
- Etsy is planning to use AI not only for emails and push notifications, but also for customized homepages to enhance user engagement.
- The AI being used by Etsy is geared towards creating a self-reinforcing cycle, where personalized browsing and discovery journeys generate more data, which the AI then uses to offer deeper personalization.
- Additionally, Etsy is collaborating with third-party AI-based shopping platforms, such as OpenAI's Operator and Microsoft's AI assistant Copilot, to further its AI endeavors.
- Etsy has also been using AI for several consumer-facing aspects of its marketplace, such as creating alt text for images, summarizing product reviews, enhancing accessibility, and better predicting delivery dates.
- In the future, Etsy aims to continue refining and expanding the use of AI to create more tailored browsing and discovery experiences for its users.
