Truist says this internet retailer's revenue is tracking above expectations so investors should buy the dip

Truist Securities sees a rosy outlook ahead for Etsy . The investment firm maintained its buy rating on the e-commerce retailer, but lifted its price target to $60 per share from $55. This updated forecast is roughly 11% above Etsy's Monday closing price of $53.89. Shares of Etsy have risen nearly 2% this year. ETSY YTD mountain ETSY YTD chart As a catalyst, analyst Youssef Squali pointed to Truist card data, which has revealed that Etsy's 2025 marketplace revenue is tracking ahead of consensus estimates for the quarter. As a result, the analyst has raised his revenue estimate for the current quarter to $463 million from $455 million. Meanwhile, monthly active users, or MAU, on the Etsy app picked up in both April and May. "We note that MAU Y/Y growth eclipsed double-digits in May, the first time in over 22 months, which we attribute to the company's efforts to re-engage in short-term GMS [gross merchandise sales] conversion activity along with an increase in marketing efficiency," the analyst wrote. Although tariffs could be a sore spot for Etsy, the company remains relatively well-insulated, Squali said. Around 50% of its gross merchandise sales last year came from domestic transactions, and no single country's makes up more than 4% of Etsy's total sales, he said, highlighting the diversified nature of Etsy's seller base. Also, its exposure to the eliminiation of the de minimis exemption — which previously exempted importers that shipped goods valued at less than $800 from duties — is "manageable," the analyst said. "While the company does have exposure to the De Minimis exemption being eliminated in China, we believe it's relatively better insulated than some of its competitors including Temu (owned by PDD , [not rated]) and Shein (private) which have started raising prices on goods as a result of the Chinese Tariffs, and the end of the De Minimis exemption," he wrote. "Another benefit to Etsy from this dynamic is a pullback in ad spend at Temu and Shein." The analyst expects Etsy's gross merchandise sales growth and margins to improve in the latter half of this year, citing management's refocus on investing in growth. Squali added that Etsy's prioritization into paid social channels — at a time of declining organic traffic from Google search — could begin paying off. "Additionally, and importantly, Etsy saw growing contribution of GMS from Paid Social channels in 1Q, which we view as a positive signal for future growth as Etsy utilizes Paid Social channels to re-engage lapsed buyers on the platform," the analyst said.

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Business Insider

11 hours ago

• Business Insider

Love, money, and yarn balls

Crystal Sloane is a pro at turning spun cotton into intricate, handmade figurines. There are seasonally themed ornaments like Santas and snowmen at Christmas, or radishes and turnips that can be personalized with the face of a loved one printed on them to celebrate spring. Crystal has been selling her work on Etsy since the dawn of the site 20 years ago. She got successful enough at dreaming up and making the quirky, vintage-inspired, custom items to quit her graphic design job in 2009 and pursue her artistic career full time. Two years later, and pregnant with her first child, she realized she needed to hire help. Instead of finding someone to pack orders and send emails and paying them out of her then $75,000 earnings, Crystal looked to her husband, Ben. He wasn't as happy with his job as a therapist at that point, and Crystal needed the help; so he quit to work for her — or, as they would debate and determine, with her. They started juggling the business baby and a new baby, but now, what was once Crystal's handmade hobby business has been supporting their family for 14 years. In a survey by Etsy in 2024, 83% of US sellers identified as women. Thirty percent of sellers said they did their work full time, rather than as an Etsy side hustle. More than half said that they sold their first goods on Etsy and that they started the business to make money while doing something they enjoy. The average Etsy seller said they spent just over half their time making and designing items, while the rest was eaten up by administrative work. Nearly 80% said they wanted to grow their businesses, but more than half said they didn't want to have to hire someone else to help. For some, there's no need to put out an ad on Craigslist or Indeed. Enter: the husband helper. Move over, Instagram boyfriend — this is a promotion that involves more work behind the scenes than just finding the perfect photo angle. Some successful shops run by women are doing so well that they can turn into not just full-time jobs, but careers stable enough to support spouses and families, too. It's a trend that also lives outside Etsy: More women are starting businesses, and more people want to work for themselves. These artists are living new twists on the family-run business, one that often involves a side-hustle turned career in crafting, an area dominated by women. Etsy has emerged as a place that, for those who hit it big, can bring life-changing money. Working with a spouse isn't all smooth sailing. At first, Crystal says, she had some trouble giving up her full autonomy over her shop, Vintage by Crystal, and Ben asked many detailed questions as she delegated. Over time, it became not just Crystal's project, but a company fully run by the couple, and Ben's name now appears alongside hers in the online shop. She still manages the artistic vision and works with her hands to make teeny tiny details for the ornaments, but he now manages the business side. "It was just a learning curve," Ben tells me. That also meant managing expectations and the work style of his wife. "I was so used to doing everything and being in charge of everything and having it all done my way," Crystal says. "We argued for a second about which kind of packing tape we should get, but then I was like, wait, that, that's his business." Etsy couples are a niche of a larger trend: 2021 data from the Census Bureau's Annual Business Survey indicated 10% of US businesses were owned and operated by spouses — and another 11% were jointly owned by couples but operated separately, with men more likely to be the main person operating the business, according to a Pew Research Center analysis. In 2023, McKinsey found that family-owned businesses generated higher profits (an average of $77 million between 2017 and 2022, compared with $66 million for other companies). Family-owned businesses that are less than 25 years old also grow twice as fast as other ownership structures, as founder entrepreneurial energy can lead to more aggressive growth that slows over time. Kathy Marshack, a psychologist who's the author of "Entrepreneurial Couples: Making It Work at Work and at Home," says much research on family businesses largely focuses on the economics and business side, but less on the effects on the family. "There's still a difference between romance and work partnership," Marshack tells me. "I have plenty of those couples who come in and say: 'What are we doing? Our marriage is falling apart, and our business is successful.' And it's because it gets hard; those boundaries are hard. Am I your lover right now, or am I your boss?" But relationships and business partnerships do have threads in common: "One of the greatest preventers of burnout is feeling connected to your colleagues," says Karen Bridbord, an organizational psychologist who specializes in executive coaching for company founders and is a certified therapist with The Gottman Institute. "I would argue that is important in a marriage as well." When people feel that they're carrying their weight and their spouse or coworkers are doing the same, satisfaction increases. For some couples, spreadsheets and brainstorming are all part of the romance. Gabriela Baiter and Drew Downie saw a matched ambition in one another — for them, a romantic getaway was a weekend coming up with business ideas on the Oregon coast. In 2017, they found their big break in an eyesore in their small apartment: an ugly dog bed for their 13-year-old black Labrador, Gable. The two turned a cobbled-together prototype into a scaled-up business and now run Lay Lo Pets, designing stylish dog beds from Palm Springs. Baiter quit her marketing career to go full time for Lay Lo in 2023, and Downie followed, leaving behind his work as a creative director in 2024. "We had this moment and this realization of like, is this a hobby or is this a business?" Baiter says. Since they both started working on Lay Lo full time and launched a virtual dog training component, their gross revenue from the business has more than doubled, they tell me. Being in business together means the meeting day never really ends, but Baiter and Downie see that as a perk. "I could not imagine building a business any other way," she tells me. Ideas come to them early in the morning, when they're making pancakes for their kids, or when they're on vacation in tiny hotel rooms (their pet company came to be over shared frustrations in their tiny apartment, after all). The push behind Etsy is that anyone, even a novice crafter, can make it big. Sarah Cambio bought a used sewing machine off Facebook Marketplace in 2020 and taught herself to make doll and baby clothes. She figured she might sell some stuff on Etsy while taking care of her three kids full time, using the money for little expenses or as fun spending money. She tried out a few items, but her shop started to boom when she listed six fabric crowns for children that sold out immediately. Sarah called her husband, Brent, from the crafts chain Joann, unsure how much fabric to buy with the new interest. It was the turning point of a business that's since ballooned. Brent started helping her to set financial goals or find new ways to source materials, so they wouldn't have to drive an hour from their Maryland home to buy what she needed. Brent, Sarah says, sees the big picture of the businesses, leaving her to handle the creative details, such as intricate embroidery, small pom-poms, and ribbons. "I tone him down, and he tries to hype me up a little bit," Sarah says. The shop, Flower Lane, made its first $100,000 in less than a year, the couple tells me. That rapid jump meant a shift in focusing on Sarah's career after moving around for Brent's — earlier in their marriage, Sarah took care of the kids primarily while Brent was in the Air Force, but her success on Etsy let her art become a focus for the family. "She didn't really have time to really set down and establish a career," Brent says. "I was just happy to see her get back into her artistic self, and it made her happy, so I was happy if she made $5 million or $5." On their first date, Adrian Krawiec told his now wife, Emily Phillippy, that he believed she would one day own her own jewelry store; he says he wanted to flatter her, but he also saw her dedication to her art, as she showed up an hour late, held up working in her studio. Over the next decade, she slowly went out on her own as a designer, and Krawiec pushed her to join Etsy, though she's left the site since to focus on her store. Her business grew, and when Phillippy went to open her storefront for Emily Chelsea Jewelry in Philadelphia in 2021, Krawiec quit his job at corporate Ikea after 18 years with the company and started working for Phillippy — just as the two had their first child. They draw clear lines about the business; they avoid talking work at home, and it's distinctly Phillippy's. "Her name is on the building," says Krawiec, who works as the senior director. "I've always looked at it like it's hers, and largely speaking, my job description has always been to make her job as easy as possible." It's easy to blur those boundaries accidentally, either by bringing work home or slipping out of boss mode. "Adrian helps the business so much in making it so much more profitable, so much more organized, and so he still is involved a lot in the decision-making, and I still will be like, 'Should I do this?' And he'll be like, 'I don't know, you're the owner.'" Krawiec plans to start working at the shop less and become more of an advisor, the couple tells me. It will mean more autonomy over the business again for Phillippy and a chance for Krawiec to explore other parts of his life. "I'm such an independent person, and we did it for four years, but that was not my vision," Phillippy says of working closely together. Marriage vows are forever; business plans are not.

Time Business News

a day ago

• Time Business News

Exploring the Rise of Local Courier Marketplaces and Courier Service Platforms in Canada

In a world where speed, convenience, and real-time updates define consumer expectations, the logistics and delivery industry is undergoing a massive transformation. From online shoppers awaiting same-day delivery to small businesses needing rapid parcel dispatch, the demand for efficient courier solutions has never been higher. In response, a powerful new trend is emerging in the local courier Canada, this model is quickly gaining traction, offering both individuals and businesses a flexible, transparent, and efficient way to manage deliveries. At the heart of this transformation is the growth of the Courier service platform in Canada, a digital solution that connects senders with local couriers in real this article, we'll dive deep into what makes local courier marketplaces so powerful, why Canada is a prime location for this disruption, and how these platforms are reshaping the courier industry across the country. A Local courier marketplace is an on-demand digital platform that connects senders — whether they're individuals or businesses — with available couriers in their area. Think of it like Uber, but for deliveries. Instead of calling a traditional courier company and dealing with long wait times, users can simply log in to a platform, post their delivery request, and select a nearby courier based on price, ETA, vehicle type, and user model thrives on flexibility. Couriers are typically independent contractors who choose when and where they want to work. Users benefit from transparent pricing, real-time tracking, and rapid delivery times. Canada is uniquely positioned to embrace the digital courier revolution. With a growing e-commerce market, a dispersed population, and urban centers that demand fast, reliable service, the rise of the courier service platform in Canada is a natural evolution. Here are a few reasons why this model is growing rapidly in Canada: Canadian consumers are shopping online more than ever. From small Etsy sellers to large online retailers, the demand for reliable and flexible delivery solutions is increasing. A local courier marketplace provides e-commerce sellers with an affordable, scalable way to fulfill orders locally without relying on national carriers with slow delivery windows. Cities like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal face high traffic congestion and logistical challenges. Local couriers who know the area well can navigate these challenges more efficiently than national couriers. The courier service platform in Canada offers real-time route optimization and allows for quick deliveries that traditional models can't match. Small businesses often can't afford to partner with large courier companies or pay premium shipping rates. Platforms that operate as local courier marketplaces give them access to cost-effective, on-demand delivery options, helping them stay competitive and retain local customers. Canada has high smartphone penetration and tech-savvy consumers. This makes it easier to adopt mobile-first delivery solutions. Couriers and senders alike can manage pickups, track packages, and handle payments seamlessly from their phones. To understand the impact of this model, let's break down how a local courier marketplace functions: Input Details : Enter pickup and delivery addresses, item size, preferred vehicle type, and any special instructions. : Enter pickup and delivery addresses, item size, preferred vehicle type, and any special instructions. Get Offers : The platform displays available couriers, estimated time of arrival, and pricing. : The platform displays available couriers, estimated time of arrival, and pricing. Track Live : Once a courier is selected, senders can track the delivery in real time and communicate directly with the courier. : Once a courier is selected, senders can track the delivery in real time and communicate directly with the courier. Pay and Rate: Payment is processed automatically via the platform, and users can leave reviews. Register on the Platform : Couriers sign up with details about their vehicle and service area. : Couriers sign up with details about their vehicle and service area. Accept Jobs : Choose deliveries that fit their schedule and location. : Choose deliveries that fit their schedule and location. Navigate with Tools : Use route optimization, live chat, and integrated GPS for efficient service. : Use route optimization, live chat, and integrated GPS for efficient service. Get Paid: Payment is direct and immediate upon completion. There are several advantages for both senders and couriers using this model: Users can choose the exact delivery window, compare prices, and select couriers based on past performance. Couriers can pick jobs based on their availability and location, making the system dynamic and efficient. Traditional courier services often come with hidden fees or vague pricing structures. Local marketplaces offer upfront pricing, allowing users to make informed choices. Live GPS tracking and integrated chat features build trust between sender and courier, and offer full visibility throughout the delivery journey. With route optimization and localized delivery, these platforms reduce unnecessary travel, making them more environmentally friendly compared to traditional delivery systems. The popularity of this delivery model has led to the rise of several platforms operating within Canada. One such platform is Sendiate, a courier marketplace that recently expanded its operations into Canadian cities like Winnipeg. The platform offers a seamless experience for both senders and couriers, with features like pricing comparison, direct chat, and diverse vehicle options — from bicycles to refrigerated trucks. By enabling real-time matching between senders and couriers, platforms like Sendiate are setting a new standard for the courier service platform in Canada. As demand for fast, local delivery continues to rise, we can expect local courier marketplaces to become an essential part of Canada's logistics landscape. Here are a few trends to watch: Many courier service platforms are working to expand their coverage to remote and rural areas. This will open up access to better delivery options for Canadians living outside of major cities. Expect tighter integration with platforms like Shopify, Amazon, and WooCommerce. Sellers will be able to offer real-time delivery options to local customers, boosting satisfaction and reducing cart abandonment. Electric vehicles, bicycles, and carbon-offsetting options will become key selling points for courier platforms, appealing to environmentally conscious users. Machine learning will play a role in predicting demand, optimizing routes, and ensuring timely delivery. Automation tools for dispatch, communication, and customer support will further improve platform efficiency. The delivery industry is shifting from large, rigid networks to agile, localized solutions. The local courier marketplace model reflects the needs of today's economy — speed, transparency, flexibility, and you're a small business needing same-day shipping or a courier looking for a flexible way to earn, platforms that offer a modern courier service platform in Canada are bridging the gap between technology and logistics. With real-time matching, transparent pricing, and urban-focused solutions, these platforms represent the future of delivery in more users embrace this model, expect to see rapid innovation, wider adoption, and a fundamentally transformed last-mile delivery experience across the country. TIME BUSINESS NEWS

CNET

a day ago

• CNET

Etsy Is Clamping Down on 3D Printed Products. Here's How It Could Affect You

It feels like everyone needs a side hustle these days. If your hobby can help make you some extra income, it seems like a no-brainer to at least try and do it. 3D printing, laser engraving and using vinyl cutters like the famous Cricut machine all give you a chance to make something beautiful, unique and sellable. Etsy has been the storefront of choice for almost 20 years, and despite other options being available, it still boasts 8.13 million active sellers in 2025, according to a recent Contimod report. Recently, the company has clarified its policies surrounding the "Made by a Seller" category, specifically relating to "items produced using computerized tools." The updates are subtle but could fundamentally change the way a lot of small businesses operate moving forward. Are all of these the same dragon, or are they different enough to be unique? Etsy/Screenshot: James Bricknell/CNET If you've ever searched for 3D-printed dragons on Etsy, you will likely have seen a screen like the one above. While each dragon looks very similar -- they are all articulated with little to no painting -- no two are the exact same. Almost all of the dragons you will see have been made by a small group of designers who license their digital models out to the Etsy seller, who use small print farms, or even single 3D printers, to print the physical model for sale. Etsy's latest update to its company policy around computerized tools has removed a key component that allowed for this type of licensing, leaving many sellers confused as to where they stand. Items produced using computerized tools: Physical items that a seller produced in their personal shop or home, using computerized tools such as a laser printer, 3D printer, CNC or Cricut machine. These items must be produced based on a seller's original design and are often personalized or customized to a buyer's specification. An Etsy spokesperson told me that the above policy has always been Etsy's standard position on products that are made by sellers. The area I have added emphasis to is the part that has been edited. Originally, the Etsy guidelines included the phrase "...or using a templated design or pattern..." which seemed to allow for the use of designs from 3D modelers. By removing this section and keeping the part about the original design, it seems to say that each seller must design the digital file themselves, as well as print it out, post-process it and ship it out. Etsy has said this update in policy is to clarify its position, rather than change it. According to the creative guidelines, an item that doesn't qualify is "A commercially available base item with only superficial alteration, such as addition of a simple, mass-produced stick-on adornment." The sticking point seems to be the "commercially available" part, as a lot of 3D print sellers on Etsy use a commercial license from 3D modelers as a source to create physical models. The business of 3D printing Patreon/Screenshot: James Bricknell/CNET 3D modelers that sell commercial licenses through sites like Patreon, Thangs, and Printables have sprung up over the last few years, to much success and accolades across the 3D printing space. Christian, or CraftyKid3D, as he is known on Patreon and social media, creates 3D models based on books and reading, including beautiful dragon bookends and small book holders to help you hold your paperbacks open. His Patreon has a commercial license tier that allows you to sell physical copies of his digital models online or at craft fairs and farmers' markets. He currently has 860 Patreon subscribers, whose $10 per month subscriptions make up a significant portion of his income. Etsy's updated policy is likely to significantly reduce Christians subscribers' ability to use the models he releases on that platform, causing both his and his subscribers' ability to sustain themselves. Worse, because the policy is vague, Etsy sellers could find themselves in violation by not knowing where the line is drawn. Even Etsy's own customer service seems to be confused, offering contradicting answers to questions asked by sellers. Two different responses to the same questions. CraftyKid3D/STLFlix/Screenshot: James Bricknell/CNET My colleague and fellow 3D printing enthusiast, Russell Holly, said the vagueness may be the point of the phrasing. "I suspect the current guidance is vague on purpose to discourage these mass production groups from making one small change and moving on, but that reality is inevitable." My question in answer to this is, where is the line for making small changes, and who else does it affect? James Bricknell/Russell Holly/CNET These two prints are clearly the same model, but each of us used a different color material and a different level of effort to paint the model in the slicing software. Digital files can be "painted" in the software to assign different colors to certain areas of the print. My copy (at left) is a fairly easy two-tone change to give me a brown front of the house surrounded by green, but Russell's (right) uses different colors and has had more time spent delineating which areas are which colors. This is a digital process to be sure, and not as manual as, say, weeding a Cricut vinyl and sticking it onto a Stanley tumbler, but it still takes time and effort and changes the look and feel in a material way. The question then becomes, what is enough of a change to constitute an original piece? That'll be up to Etsy to decide on a case-by-case basis, which itself offers a lot of issues. Policing a site as big as Etsy is incredibly difficult and relies heavily on IP infringements being reported by the holders of that IP. This isn't the same scenario as the creators of the 3D models actively approve of people using them to produce physical copies, so they wouldn't report the use to Etsy. This means Etsy will have to spend resources on policing these models themselves. It has been said that Etsy uses reports from other sellers to take down IP violations, but in its handbook it states that it doesn't "...accept reports of infringement by just anybody — only from the intellectual property owner or the owner's authorized agent..." so it's unlikely it will go that route, but they will have to do something if they want anything to actually change. In conversation with me and other members of the CraftyKid3D Patreon community -- I am a member, and use his models to test the best 3D printers -- Christian expressed his concern that Etsy would have trouble enforcing this policy change. "Etsy has always been poor on moderation. It's the companies like Universal, Sony, Disney, that will contact Etsy to remove copyright products. But even Etsy can't keep that under control." He went on to say, "Unless they have new tech, I highly doubt they can enforce this...." What does this policy mean for you as a seller? The helmet on the left likely wouldn't be covered by Etsy's policy, but the one on the right would. James Bricknell/CNET If you use Etsy to sell your 3D-printed products, you're going to need to think about what products you make and how much you're willing to alter them. One of the biggest profit considerations is how long it takes to post-process a 3D-printed model. The most profit always comes from something that can be sold with some basic cleanup and not much else, so if you have to spend time and materials to alter a print significantly, your profit margin decreases. Holly said, "If you've printed a cosplay helmet designed by someone else but then gone through the work of sanding and painting and all of that, it's no longer the same thing it was when it came off the printer and would not be subject to this policy." I agree with him that this use case would almost certainly be allowed by Etsy, but we don't have a clear idea if that's true. In this picture, you can see two Mandalorian helmets that I've printed. The one on the left is the original file with no alterations except that I printed it in a soft PLA so my daughter could wear it without fear of breaking it if she dropped it. It took me a little time to remove the supports and clean it up, but I could have sold it for a good profit because it's a different way to print helmets. The one on the right took a lot of time. The steps I had to go through were: Remove the 3D printed supports Sand the whole helmet until smooth Fill any layer lines left over from the first sanding Sand the dried filler so that everything is smooth and even Spray filler/primer over the helmet to create a uniform layer Spray the helmet with a black gloss undercoat Spray the helmet with a silver paint Glue the separate ear pieces on Spray with a clear gloss to protect the silver paint Now, I can sell this second helmet on Etsy. I'm sure the policy would cover this kind of adjustment, and I could even turn a decent profit, but it would be far less than the profit from the first helmet, even though I could charge a lot more for it. I don't think the first helmet would qualify as my original design, though. If your business relies on the files of others, be it articulated dragons from Cinderwing or book nooks from CraftyKid3D, you likely already sell them in other storefronts like Facebook Marketplace or Amazon's handmade site, as well as at physical locations. If you don't, it may be worth diversifying where you sell. There are so many things that we don't know about how Etsy will police its amended policy, that having other revenue avenues is a good idea. It will be interesting to see how far this change will go. Will Cricut makers need to design their own decals instead of buying commercially available SVGs? Will laser-engraving makers need to do the same? The entire maker community uses these kinds of services, and it has empowered a huge business sector that turned hobbies into a legitimate way to make an income. According to Contimod, 34% of all sellers on Etsy cite it as their only source of income so the potential loss is considerable. Etsy isn't the only storefront out there, but it is one of the largest, and its decisions here could have a lasting impact across this sector.