As Etsy sellers, we’re always looking for ways to help increase sales! We love it when the email inbox lights up with sold items, especially when it happens overnight, while we’re sleeping! That’s cool!
One of the ways to make this happen is to list and re-list items at the best times of day. The trick is knowing what those times are!
Time Your Listings to Peak Hours — Get More Sales
Why Does it Matter?
Before we try and figure out what those top times are, lets get a quick look at some of the tools Etsy provides to help people browse through recent listings; there are a few!
At the bottom of the Etsy front page, you’ll find a scrolling ticker showing Recently Listed Items.
You might not make it onto this one just due to sheer numbers and the obvious lack of space here. But the saying that never convinced us to play Lotto, works here…you can’t win if you don’t play!
If you happen to get your listing here, you’re bound to get some clicks.
The Full Screen Option
Check out this awesome way to browse! By clicking just above those Front Page New listings where it says “see even more recent items”, I can find my way to this cool option:
Couldn’t you just stare at this for hours? You know people do. So being on this page during peak hours is a great way to get traffic to your shop.
Time Machine
Another place for your newly listed item is in the Time Machine, with the “Just Listed” option selected.
And that’s not all…
Search Order
Since the original writing of this post, Etsy has switched to a relevancy search system rather than time-based. This makes timing your listings to certain times less important, but can still be helpful.
The Etsy search engine returns results in reverse chronological order, with the most recently listed on top. If you’re in a popular niche that gets searched frequently, this could be huge!
So, now that we’ve shown that listing in peak hours is a good thing. What are they?
When Are Peak Times?
There isn’t much out there on this and we’re not really sure that there is a “one-size-fits-all” answer. The peak times in your shop could be totally different than in our shop because your customers are different than ours.
It pays to know your customer and try to imagine their habits.
Here is our best shot at it based on our own experience with both Etsy sales and blog traffic. Both our blog traffic and Etsy customers are generally women over 25 and in the U.S. This is NOT scientific!
Best Time of Day
- 10pm – Midnight – apparently the kids are in bed, and it’s “wind-down” time. Our busiest times have always been in this range.
- 6:00 am – 8:00 am – our traffic seems to show that lots of people enjoy their morning coffee while browsing the internet.
- 11:00 am – 2:00 pm (weekdays only) – it seems like a favorite lunchtime activity is checking out things online.
Worst Time of Day
- 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm (weekdays)- people seem to disappear completely.
Find Out For Yourself
You can use Google Analytics for your Etsy Shop to watch your own traffic and see if you can find a pattern.
Watch your sales, or look back at your past sales, to see if some key times or days jump out at you.
Don’t forget the photography!
The key to all of this working is good photography. Your picture has to scream “click on me”. Read our post on the subject, How-To: Photograph Your Work For Sale On Etsy.
What have you found?
Give us some feedback… what times have you found to be best for Etsy sales? What days of the week?
What great features! I didn’t realize you could look at recently listed items full screen.
Great advice! Thank you!
PamperingBeki’s last blog post..Who IS that?!
What’s funny is that I totally relist right between 7 and 8 pm….I must rethink this!!
Allegra’s last blog post..Awesome Item of the Day
In the beginning I listed only in the morning. After reading this, I’ll have to try different times. I wonder what’s the best time to attract moms to my site since they’re my main customers. Any ideas? I need help.
Yasmeen’s last blog post..Sale Item — Nautical Pocket Dress
Such great information! I now believe I can safety walk away from my computer from 4-7pm and enjoy the last hours of the day with my girls without losing potential sales! I’m still so new to Etsy & Blogging so I appreciate the tips! Thanks! Kerry
kidgiddy.etsy.com
kidgiddy.blogspot.com
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Thanks for the great advice! I have tried everything I can think of to get traffic to my site. I have re-photographed everything, proofread all my texts, I re-list at least twice a day- still no luck.
Maybe it was because I was listing things in the not-so-great hours of 4 to 7pm 🙁
ahem, I forgot, my shop is http://www.tasherajean.etsy.com 🙂
This was great information! I didn’t know you could do google analytics on your Etsy page. This is going to really change the way I work on Etsy!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/Harmoniousposh
How do you re-list an item????
I have acess to google analytics, my problem is that I can not make things fast enough to list twice a day and if I do miss days then my clicks dive bomb! Double edged sword.
http://www.indigo-blue-designs.blogspot.com
This is really helpful! I just started my Etsy business earlier this month and I wondered why I haven’t had any sales yet. I do add on items during the late-afternoon. But if you think about it, placing items on Etsy during the late hours is beneficial (especially on the East Coast) because of the different time zones.
Nice post! Thanks!
http://www.niecynotes.etsy.com
Thank you! It is very insightful. I need to change things up a bit! Angela
.-= AllForLoveOfYarn´s last blog ..Soleful Sock Hand Painted 40 Alpaca, 40 Superwash Merino, 20 Nylon, 475 yards Terracotta =-.
Gret information for times to readjust my listed items.
.-= Jason Jobst´s last blog ..Bull Elk No1, 8×10 Fine art print =-.
Thanks for the great info. I have just started to relist my items and needed to know the best times =0)
.-= Rachel Heath´s last blog ..Forest Harmony 24×18 Original Painting =-.
Great info. I’ll try it out for my relistings.
.-= vanessa´s last blog ..chocolate brown crocheted bow tie =-.
Thanks for the great tips – my head is spinning with everything I am reading here!
.-= Tracy´s last blog ..Smokey Blue Ice Cubes 128 =-.
Great information! This might be a silly question, but what time zone are we talking about here…? I’m here in Germany and realizing that listing in the middle of *my* day means my stuff is at the top of the list when most Americans are fast asleep! Clearly, I need to pay more attention to timing… Thanks for this!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/fuzzysushi
.-= Jennifer´s last blog ..Merry Christmas! =-.
Great info. I’ll try it out for my relistings.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/blackgizmo?ref=pr_shop_more
Great advice! I had the listing times wrong… thats forsure!!
Thanks so much! We just opened our shop and were wondering the exact thing. I felt weekdays were better but tried posting after people would be home from work. But, as you stated, coffee breaks and lunch breaks seem like better etsy times! Thanks again!
.-= Moments´s last blog ..Bittersweet Me — Orange Flowers — Giclee Print 8×10 by printmakerjenn =-.
Great info! I’m just getting started, and this is going to be a huge help. Thanks!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/DragonsBeads
Great information!!!
Thank you for the information. I am a new shop and trying to find ways to direct traffic to my little shop
Thanks so much, this is such helpful advise!!!!
Good info all around. I seem to see more views on Tuesday and Thursday.
Great info but since this is actually a old post I was wondering is it still the same if anyone would like to give me some advise on my Etsy please do so thanks in advance
http://www.etsy.com/shop/SibrinaCreations?ref=si_shop
Great information!! Once again you managed to impress me and give me a boost. Thanks!