Earned & PaidEtsy
Etsy spent $791M on advertising and marketing in fiscal 2025, up 8.8% on the year before and +352% since 2019. That's 27.4% of revenue, more than in 2019: leaning in.
Marketing spend by year
Bars: advertising and marketing expense, $B (10-K). Line: spend as a share of revenue.
What they told investors
“We're bringing creativity, craftsmanship and human connection to the forefront across both the marketplace and our brand marketing, which celebrates being human and the way Etsy sellers bring meaning to moments that matter, big and small.”Kruti Goyal · 2026 Q2 · transcript
“And you know we are a company that doesn't set a marketing budget. It sets a return target.”Charles Baker · 2026 Q2 · transcript
“So you see that in the shift in our marketing investments, shifting our investment to social channels to OTT, the channels that are -- the places that younger shoppers shop and really focused on both putting in front of them content that is more relevant and showing up in…”Kruti Goyal · 2026 Q2 · transcript
“And if our marketing dollars are going further, that says the return is better, and that is, over time, going to lead us to continue to spend more on marketing and drive flywheel.”Charles Baker · 2026 Q2 · transcript
“We've been talking about showing up much more strongly in places like social media.”Charles Baker · 2026 Q1 · transcript
“We increased our marketing spend year-over-year, and we gained operating leverage in terms of GMS and revenue operating leverage on the marketing line.”management · 2026 Q1 · transcript
What the 10-K says about marketing
- measurement “We invest in technology that enhances search and discovery, strengthens trust and safety, and improves overall platform performance and scalability. Marketing - utilizing disciplined marketing investments to engage our communities: Our marketing strategies are designed to…” 10-K, Feb 19, 2026
- shifting the mix “Show up where shoppers discover. We are working to increase Etsy’s presence across the channels where today’s shoppers - particularly younger audiences - find inspiration, including social, streaming, and AI-enabled platforms. In 2025, we prioritized an app-first, browsable and…” 10-K, Feb 19, 2026
- shifting the mix “Amplify human connection. We’re re-centering our brand around the creativity and authenticity of our sellers by making their stories more visible across our marketplace and marketing. In 2025, we began this work with targeted improvements to core features, including listing…” 10-K, Feb 19, 2026
- investing in brand “In the second half of 2025, Etsy initiated an incremental brand investment in Depop to accelerate U.S. audience expansion and build brand awareness, with the goal of establishing Depop as the leading resale platform across broader demographics and driving long-term growth for…” 10-K, Feb 19, 2026
- shifting the mix “Marketing expenses increased primarily due to an increase in performance marketing, as we continued to invest in efficient channels and regions with positive return on investment. This increase was partially offset by the sale of Reverb on June 2, 2025 and a decrease in brand…” 10-K, Feb 19, 2026
Say vs do
Etsy's management has talked about its marketing budget, but in ways annual filings can't check: one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix.
What they said
“So you see that in the shift in our marketing investments, shifting our investment to social channels to OTT, the channels that are -- the places that younger shoppers shop and really focused on both putting in front of them content that is more relevant and showing up in…”
Kruti Goyal on the 2026 Q2 earnings call, Aug 12, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings Filings don't split brand from performance or report spend by channel.
“We increased our marketing spend year-over-year, and we gained operating leverage in terms of GMS and revenue operating leverage on the marketing line.”
Management on the 2026 Q1 earnings call, Apr 29, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about part of a year; filings report full years.
“we believe that as we shift our mix towards paid social, this will support buyer retention and frequency more than new buyer acquisition, since a lot of our paid social advertising is retargeting existing buyers”
Rachel Glaser on the 2024 Q2 earnings call, Apr 22, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings Filings don't split brand from performance or report spend by channel.
“Consolidated brand spend declined 26% year-over-year and 42% sequentially as we pulled back in this area following our significant Q1 2024 marketing investment to support the launch of Gift Mode.”
Rachel Glaser on the 2024 Q2 earnings call, Apr 22, 2026 · transcript
Can't tell from annual filings It's about part of the business; filings report one company-wide number.
What they did
| Year | Marketing spend | Change | Share of revenue |
|---|---|---|---|
| FY2025 | $791M | +8.8% | 27.4% |
| FY2024 | $727M | +16.5% | 25.9% |
| FY2023 | $624M | +7.4% | 22.7% |
| FY2022 | $581M | +3.9% | 22.6% |
| FY2021 | $559M | +26.5% | 24.0% |
| FY2020 | $442M | +152.6% | 25.6% |
Against its peers. Compared with the 3 other Marketplace advertisers we track (eBay, Wayfair, Chewy): since 2019 its marketing spend went +352% (peer median +70%); its share of revenue moved +6.0 pts (median -2.6); last year +8.8% (median 0.0%).
In interviews, its leaders made 24 statements about marketing: 5 argued for investing in brand and 0 for cutting.
How we check: a statement gets a verdict only when it's clearly about the size of the whole company's marketing budget over a full fiscal year; we compare it with the advertising and marketing expense in that year's 10-K. Statements about one quarter, one brand or channel, or the mix between brand and performance can't be checked against annual filings.
What they say about media
The marketing channels it talks about using for itself on earnings calls and in its 10-Ks and 10-Qs, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- Creative campaigns “We're bringing creativity, craftsmanship and human connection to the forefront across both the marketplace and our brand marketing, which celebrates being human and the way Etsy sellers bring meaning to moments that matter, big and small.” Kruti Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
- CRM, loyalty & first-party data “But one of the secret weapons is the owned channels that we have of push and e-mail and the mobile app, where your question was how are we using these channels to bring -- attract new customers and bring them back.” Charles Baker on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
- Paid social “And in terms of portfolio shifts, I would say we are getting -- we've talked about pushing a lot of money into social at times to then figure out what works best and then optimizing, and we're making some good gains right now optimizing our social channels.” Charles Baker on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
- Paid search “We have increased the efficiency in our more mature channels, i.e., search and PLAs.” Charles Baker on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
- SEO & AI search “We're continuing to see strength in own channels like SEO, and we've improved our PLA performance really meaningfully through better segmentation and bidding strategies that direct spend towards our highest quality inventory and bring in the right buyers more efficiently.” Kruti Goyal on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
What they see in the market
What its leaders and filings say about the ad market: its own ad business, or the channels advertisers use, since 2019; counts are statements, not spending.
- AI in marketing “Meanwhile, Etsy marketplace take rate also expanded year-over-year, primarily driven by Etsy Ads, where we're using machine learning to enhance relevance and improve seller budget pacing.” Charles Baker on the earnings call · Aug 12, 2026 · source
- Retail media “Services revenue increased primarily due to a $19.1 million increase in advertising revenue, primarily driven by higher click volume on Etsy Ads.” 10-Q · Aug 5, 2026 · source
- Influencers & creators “The other thing that I would add is I think there's an opportunity to really leverage our sellers and leverage influencers to really speak more directly to those younger buyers.” Kruti Goyal on the earnings call · Feb 19, 2026 · source
- Organic social & content “And so the channels that we show up on really matters.” Kruti Goyal on the earnings call · Feb 19, 2026 · source
- Creative campaigns · Programmatic & display “Offsite Ads is an innovative advertising program for Etsy marketplace sellers, where Etsy’s marketing spend funds the upfront costs to promote Etsy sellers’ listings on multiple internet platforms and takes a ‘success fee’ when a sale is made.” 10-K · Feb 19, 2025 · source
In the news
- Etsy is using AI to get inside shoppers’ heads – and boost sales The Independent · Sep 29, 2026 · AI in marketing
- Etsy Leverages AI for Enhanced Consumer Insights and Personaliza GuruFocus · Sep 29, 2026 · AI in marketing
- Popular handmade market site using AI to build detailed customer profiles The Independent · Sep 29, 2026 · AI in marketing