Etsy released a new shopping feature called Gift Mode, which intends to make buying gift easier for customers.
Just like any recent changes on Etsy, some sellers are skeptical, some excited for the change, and some brush it off as a basic search feature.
But I’m here to tell you this Etsy Gift Mode feature is more than that.
Knowing how to extract useful insights about:
And I’ve also collected 192 of the Gift Mode personas that’s not available anywhere else.
Let’s get started.
Etsy launched a new feature called Gift Mode on January 24, 2024 to provide a streamlined gift-buying experience for Etsy buyers. Etsy wants to be known as the destination for gifts, and extends gift-buying to all-year long and not just for holidays. At the time of writing, Gift Mode is available in US, UK, Canada and Australia.
It works by having buyers first answer questions about who they’re shopping for, the recipient's interests, and the gifting occasion. Based on the responses, Etsy suggests tailored gift guides showcasing relevant products.
Etsy refers to Gift Mode as “powered by AI”, but the list of gift recipient personas, interest categories, and associated product ideas seem to be highly curated and reflect the high demand niches on Etsy.
At first glance, you may think Gift Mode is made only for buyers, but actually:
Etsy Gift Mode is a valuable market research tool for Etsy sellers to understand customer demand, highly related sub-niches, product opportunities and more.
Before we dive into how to extract information from Gift Mode, here is an exclusive list of Gift Mode personas.
Etsy doesn’t reveal the full list of personas, and I don't see a list available anywhere else. So I’ve manually extracted 192 of the personas, and organised them into relevant categories.
Some personas could fit in multiple categories, for example, “The Ceramicist” would fit in both “Hobbies” and “Arts & Crafts”
For simplicity reasons, I’ve omitted the word “The” in the personas.
Here is the list of 192 Gift Mode personas:
Etsy Gift Mode is a valuable tool for Etsy sellers to better understand their target customers and identify new product opportunities aligned with demand on Etsy.
The suggested gift categories, sub-niches, and products revealed in Gift Mode are likely to have high demand - otherwise Etsy wouldn’t showcase them. By digging into the recommendations, sellers can get insights into popular and rising niches on Etsy.
You can also gain better clarity around your ideal customer and what other related products and styles they are interested in. This helps you consider potential ways to adjust your niche or expand your offerings to better meet your customers’ needs.
Gift Mode can reveal relevant keyword opportunities too. Often the category and sub-niche names shown provide popular Etsy search keywords that you can optimise for.
Etsy sellers who are able to extract valuable information and apply them quickly to their Etsy shop could gain an edge over their competitors.
In this section, I’ll teach you how to use Gift Mode properly to extract insights for your Etsy shop.
First, take the Gift Mode quiz and answer the questions as if you are your target customer. You don’t necessarily have to choose an answer to “Who are you shopping for?” question if your product is more based on hobby, occasion, etc.
Alternatively, scroll down and browse the personas directly and start from there.
After submitting your choice, you’ll see a list of possible personas with some related products on the side. Click into the one that’s closely related to your product or target customer.
Once you’re inside, you’ll get a list of related categories with product ideas that interest that target customer.
Pay attention to those as they reveal closely related niches and product ideas that your customers may be interested in. Remember, they are very likely to be high in demand because it’s in Etsy’s best interest to suggest popular niches.
Which means it is to your advantage to consider expanding your product selections to better align with customer demand.
You’ll also find "Related inspiration for...” and "Discover more ideas based on your answers” sections beneath the product categories. The suggested personas here indicate other target customers who may be interested in your products as well since they are closely related.
Let’s take an Etsy seller selling hiking gear as an example. In the Gift Mode quiz, they would choose “The Outdoors” from the “What they are into” question. From the personas that are presented, the closest one would be “The Hiker”.
Inside they’ll find product categories like Wool Hiking Socks, Camp Mugs, Custom Trail Maps, Embroidered Hiking Apparel and National Parks Travel Maps.
Depending on exactly what they sell, the product categories may not seem relevant at first. But if you break them down, you’ll discover some additional insight about the target customer:
After extracting the insights, you can scroll down and see other closely related personas, who may also be interested in hiking products as well. And they include personas like “The Adventurer” and “The Nature Lover”.
And even if your niche doesn't appear in Gift Mode yet, you can still get insights about related customer personas, styles they like, product ideas you can branch into, etc.
If you haven’t started your Etsy shop and want to start one in 2024, then browsing categories in the Gift Mode can help you have a better understanding of what sells on Etsy, and how you can leverage your skill and knowledge to create sellable products. And if you want to accelerate your growth, consider joining GYC Etsy Academy 2.0.
Now that you know how to take advantage of Etsy’s Gift Mode feature, it’s time to learn how to choose the right niche and identify market gaps on Etsy with this guide.
