Etsy Strike Narrative Trends
Over 60,000 sellers have joined the week-long protest
Beginning on April 11, thousands of independent Etsy sellers organized a week-long strike, boycotting the E-commerce giant’s site. This Kudzu Narrative Intelligence brief gives insights on where the narratives are coming from, who’s pushing them, and what they’re saying daily.
Over 100 narratives about the Etsy strike have been amplified in the past 14 days, with the overwhelming majority being from left-leaning outlets like CNN, Slate and Mashable.
A quick glance at the top keywords extracted from this narrative will reveal the root of the strike: transaction fees. Terms like “fee structure,” “fee increase,” or simply “transaction fees” tell the central pain point for Etsy sellers. The company’s CEO Josh Silverman, himself a top keyword, recently announced a platform-wide increase in seller transaction fees by 1.5%.
“Kristi Cassidy” is another top phrase associated with the strike. Cassidy is a seller/organizer who has been interviewed by several publications since the strike began. Like many of the strike’s 60,000+ participants, Cassidy is worried about financial instability as a result of the hike in seller fees.
Key terms like “marketing and customer support” reflect Etsy’s defense of the seller fee increase, as they cite that the money gained from these transactions will be spent to develop and support marketing efforts and customer support infrastructure on behalf of independent sellers.
The strike is set to end on April 18, but some sellers are suggesting more drastic actions such as turning the movement into a labor organization for independent sellers.
This Kudzu brief will automatically update as this narrative continues to take shape in the coming days and weeks.
