Etsy Integration With Your Ecommerce Website – Process, Benefits, and Tips

Etsy offers a real boost to your ecommerce business. By using Etsy alongside your own online store, you can enjoy the benefits of working with one of the most popular and effective online shopping platforms in the US. At the same time, you’ll still get all the benefits of running your own branded storefront.

But how do you leverage these key operational benefits? At NEXT BASKET, we want to deliver all the tools and capabilities you need to get the best out of ecommerce. It includes helping you optimize your online store with highly effective integrations.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a guide that covers what the Etsy platform is all about, the benefits of Etsy integration and some tips for success. Read on to discover more.

E-commerce opportunities with Etsy – facts and stats

Why integrate Etsy with your existing store if you already have an online business?

Before we explore the benefits of Etsy integration, let’s take a look at some facts and statistics about the online marketplace:

• Etsy is one of the leading platforms for artists, creators, crafters, and craft supply vendors. If your business operates in this niche, you certainly need to know about this ecommerce platform.
• The platform has been trading since 2005 and is based in New York City.
• In 2022, Etsy reported a consolidated merchandise sale figure of $4 billion, with a GMS of $3.7 billion reported from the Etsy marketplace. That was a slight decline from 2021.
• Each month, Etsy receives around 377.4 million hits.
• Users can list their products in various categories when they sell on Etsy – there are 43 product categories in total.
• Etsy is a seller’s market. Around 81.9 million active buyers use Etsy, compared to 4.36 million active sellers.
• The platform proved to be highly resilient during the pandemic, with a 106.84% increase in sales between 2019 and 2020 and a 110.07% increase in revenue over the same period.
• Most Etsy sellers (about two-thirds) are based in the United States. The United Kingdom comes in second, with about 30% of Etsy sellers.
• Around 61% of those who sell on Etsy are selling across multiple channels, highlighting just how useful the platform can be within a diverse strategy.
• Etsy does apply charges and transaction fees as part of its online business model, which business owners need to be aware of when they sell products across the platform.

Benefits of integrating Etsy with your ecommerce website

There are several benefits to integrating Etsy with your ecommerce store. These include the following:

Reach more buyers

Reaching potential customers when you are starting out can be difficult. With Etsy, you gain access to a readymade marketplace of active buyers. It can augment your income from e-commerce while you build your brand, increasing your sales thanks to the exposure you receive from listing products on Etsy.

Develop brand recognition

While Etsy can be a helpful way to sell online, it won’t help you develop brand recognition – at least not by itself. Integrating the marketplace with your online store gives you a branded storefront while benefiting from the Etsy marketplace’s exposure.

Build on Etsy’s capabilities

Etsy is not designed to be a solution for medium and larger-scale businesses. It can provide some benefits, but you will need your own e-commerce store to build your strategy – one with more features and customization options.

You gain the best of both worlds when integrating Etsy with your online store. For instance, you won’t get detailed reporting features, abandoned cart recovery, or key third-party integrations if you just use Etsy. Still, an e-commerce platform can provide you with all of this.

Integration between Etsy and your e-commerce store is essentially about expanding your approach. Yes, there are plenty of benefits of using Etsy, but this platform alone won’t be suitable as your business grows. Integration means you can experience those benefits while still achieving a scalable solution for the future.

Step-by-step guide to integrating Etsy with your ecommerce website

Let’s take a look at the process of Etsy integration. How do you connect the Etsy platform to your ecommerce business to create a successful online store?

Choose your integration tool

You’ll need an integration tool to connect Etsy to your ecommerce store. Here at NEXT BASKET, we provide handy tools that make Etsy integration with ecommerce website not only possible but easy.

Once you have signed up for our service, log into your NEXT BASKET account and find the Etsy plugin. Download this plugin.

You will need to make sure you are logged in to both your Etsy account and your ecommerce store account. Next, open the plugin in your ecommerce store and follow the setup process to connect via the Etsy API and Etsy API key.

Create your Etsy listings

To sell your Etsy products from your ecommerce website, you’ll first need to list items in your Etsy shop. Go to your Etsy account and create your product listing. You will have the opportunity to create a draft listing – review this draft to ensure everything is in order, then publish the newly created product listings. These listings will now appear as live in your Etsy stores.

Sync products

Consistency is vital during Etsy marketplace integration, and you’ll need to make sure that your product data – i.e., inventory levels and pricing – is the same across your Etsy shop and your ecommerce store.

Use Etsy sync to carry out this step, selecting the product and data categories you want to sync up and then confirming your choices. The data will now be unified in your Etsy store and on your own online store.

Tips for optimizing your Etsy integration

How do you get the most out of your Etsy integration with your online store? We’ve compiled a few best practices to keep in mind.

Be proactive with your listings

It’s a good idea to continually update and optimize your product listings – both across your own ecommerce website and on the Etsy platform itself. Being proactive across multiple platforms helps you to make sure that your products are optimized for SEO and attract a steady stream of potential customers.

Unify your messaging and images

Your own online store will give you the opportunity to develop your unique brand, while your Etsy shop will look a little more generic. However, you still get to add product descriptions and images to Etsy, which must be consistent with your broader brand identity.

Keep on top of your performance

Use monitoring and analytic tools to keep on top of how your stores are performing. If you are not experiencing the sales increases expected from Etsy integration, it may be necessary to make some changes. Gathering real-time data and interpreting this data into actionable insight will help you understand how to optimize your store and gain more sales in the process.

Base your marketing decisions on data

All of your marketing decisions – from SEO and brand messaging to expanding your assortment and adding more products – need to be based on a solid data foundation. Your monitoring and analytics solutions will provide the data you need to strategize your next moves.

Common challenges in Etsy integration

The process should be easy, but you may encounter some issues when integrating Etsy with your online store. Here are a few of the most common issues and how you can overcome these problems.

Inconsistencies in listings

One of the most common problems is a discrepancy between the product listings that are live on Etsy and the listings you have live on your own website. It’s a good idea to check your product listings on both platforms to make sure they are consistent.

Failure during syncing

Once you have synced your Etsy store with your own ecommerce shop, your product information, pricing, and other data should be consistent between the two locations.

However, sometimes the syncing does not work how you expected – it could be because it is not configured correctly. Check that the Etsy plugin has the necessary permissions on your ecommerce store platform, and consider configuring the synced products again to remove any errors.

Not leveraging key features

The point of working on multiple channels is to expand your approach and achieve full ecommerce functionality. You may be missing out on this if you and your teams are not taking advantage of all the features provided by your ecommerce platforms.

Make sure you are fully up to date with all of the platform’s features and capabilities, and ensure you know how to use them effectively.

Managing inventory and orders between Etsy and your website

One of the key advantages of Etsy integration is streamlined order management and fulfillment. Orders you receive via Etsy can be handled and fulfilled via your ecommerce website platform, making life significantly easier for your teams.

It is because of product data synchronization. All of your product data, including inventory data, is in sync between the two channels. When your inventory changes on your ecommerce website, it also changes on your Etsy store, and vice versa. There is no need for manual data admin and input, as the values are updated in real-time.

You still need to perform manual tasks to ensure thath the shipping process is completed on time. Automation and synchronization help you keep track of your orders across all your channels, but you still need to ensure that orders are being fulfilled and products are shipped on time.

If customers have to wait a long time to receive their products, it can damage the brand you have worked so hard to build.

Alternatives to Etsy integration for your ecommerce growth

Etsy can be an excellent option for your business, particularly if you operate in the art, design, or craft supplies space. However, it’s not the only option out there.

Here at NEXT BASKET, we can provide Etsy integration tools that connect multiple online selling channels, but we also offer our own ecommerce platform as a viable alternative.

Our platform provides:

• A range of e-commerce features, from loyalty programs to credit purchases;
• A mixture of both in-person and AI-based support options;
• A choice of numerous design themes for store personalization;
• A unique domain for your online store;
• A range of analytics tools and reporting functions;
• And many more assets to support your ecommerce strategy.

To discover more about what NEXT BASKET’s solutions can do for you, reach out to our team today via the buttons below – ask us a question or get a quote for our solution.

Get more from e-commerce with powerful integrations

NEXT BASKET provides you and your business with the tools you need to get more out of your ecommerce and online marketplace strategy. Use the buttons below to contact us – ask a question or get a quote today.

Stats Sources

1. Etsy, Inc. Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Results – https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/etsy-inc-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2022-results-301753557.html 
2. Etsy Stats 2023: Facts and Trends – https://thrivemyway.com/etsy-stats/ 
3. Top Etsy Statistics 2023: User And Revenue Data – https://startupbonsai.com/etsy-statistics/