Latest posts
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Handling the Final-Week Halloween Rush Without Burning Out
A Capital on Tap survey of small business owners found 79% report finding their work stressful, and 56% report poor mental health as a result. The final week before Halloween, right before an even longer Q4 crunch begins, is exactly the kind of stretch that produces it. Table of Contents Introduction These are the exact…
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Halloween Decor Niches: Spooky-Cute vs. Gothic Elegant vs. Kid-Friendly
Halloween spending is projected to hit a record $13.1 billion in 2025, and 78% of that spending, roughly $4.2 billion, goes toward home decor alone, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual consumer survey. That’s a lot of buyers searching for a very specific aesthetic, and most of them are not searching for the word…
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Week in Review — October 5, 2025
Halloween’s final push is underway, and support case volume is already climbing ahead of the busier Q4 stretch. Halloween: full intensity now Sellers across costumes, decor, and party supplies report this is now the single busiest week of the category’s entire selling season, consistent with the compressed timeline we’ve discussed all along. If you’re in…
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Thanksgiving and Early Holiday Keyword Guide: Getting Ahead of the November Rush
49% of consumers say they began Halloween shopping in September or earlier this year, up from 47% a year earlier, according to a National Retail Federation consumer survey released this month. That same early-shopping instinct extends into Thanksgiving and holiday-gift searches, and if your listings in those categories aren’t live and indexed yet, that traffic…
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Week in Review — September 21, 2025
Halloween is now clearly the dominant seasonal story, alongside continued Q4 planning conversation. Halloween momentum building fast Following Wednesday’s keyword guide, several sellers reported Halloween listings published earlier this month are already converting well, consistent with how sharp this category’s demand curve tends to be. If you haven’t published Halloween-adjacent inventory yet, the window is…
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Halloween Keyword Guide: What Buyers Are Searching Right Now
Halloween spending is on pace to hit a record $13.1 billion in 2025, according to the National Retail Federation, with costumes ($4.3 billion) and decorations ($4.2 billion) together accounting for a combined $8.5 billion of that total. Search volume on Etsy is climbing right alongside it, and buyer language at this stage of the season…
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Fall Photography Refresh: Small Changes That Make Old Listings Feel Current
Not every listing needs to be new for fall to feel current. For most year-round inventory, a modest photography refresh signals seasonal relevance without the time investment of building new listings from scratch. Table of Contents Introduction Most Etsy sellers hear “seasonal refresh” and picture a full reshoot: new props, new lighting, a weekend gone.…
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Week in Review — September 7, 2025
First full week of September, and the shift toward fall and Q4 planning is now the dominant theme in seller conversations. Fall transition in full swing Following our pieces this week on homepage refreshes and fall keyword patterns, several sellers reported already seeing early traction on newly published fall and Halloween-adjacent listings, consistent with the…
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Q4 Production Planning: Deciding Now Whether You Need Help
Retailers nationally expected to hire between 400,000 and 500,000 seasonal workers for the 2024 holiday season alone, according to the National Retail Federation. Etsy shops feel the same volume spike, just at a smaller scale and without a corporate HR department to handle it. Table of Contents Introduction September is the last real planning window…
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Fall Keyword Patterns: What’s Actually Driving Search Right Now
Google’s own search data shows interest in “pumpkin spice latte” now peaks in August, not September or October like it did before 2018. Fall keyword behavior on Etsy is shifting earlier the same way, and a listing still waiting for October to “feel like fall” is already behind. Table of Contents Introduction If your shop’s…