Etsy Average Selling Price Up in December, Launches New Search Feature

Etsy reported 25.6 million of gross merchandise volume (the value of goods sold on its site) in December 2009, a 98% year-over-year increase compared to December 2008 and roughly 17% higher than November's $22 million.

Sellers on the marketplace sold 1.5 million items in December, up 78% year-over-year, and up 12% from November. The average price per item sold was up, and Etsy said, "We translate that to mean that sellers are doing a better job of pricing their items, thus increasing their income."

There were actually fewer new items listed on the site in December compared to November: 1.8 million, a decrease of 6%, but up 65% from December 2008. Over 307,000 new members joined the Etsy community in December, and the site experienced 671,752,056 page views for the month.

The company also announced the launch of a new search feature called Etsy Search Suggestions that will display suggested searches below the search bar based on what the visitor is typing. The suggested searches are recent related searches performed by other Etsy visitors, and the suggestions are available for searches within Handmade, Vintage, Supplies, All Items and top-level Categories. Etsy said the feature is now live for a small percentage of Etsy traffic, and it will be gradually rolling it out to everyone over time.