Like any retailer, an Etsy shop succeeds when it has an eye on seasonal salability. So this week, we’re going to Spring Forward!

Despite a calendar full of seasons and holidays, we tend to focus the most on Christmas. Legend has it that “Black Friday” means that it is the time of year when retailers are “in the black” (however, anyone who works in retail will tell you it’s because it’s the most horrible day to be working).

It’s true that Christmas is the time of year when everyone shops for gifts, but there are other times of the year when people look for gifts – even for themselves – but they are more specific reasons.

With Easter just a few weeks away, this is a good time for us to look at what other seasons in the year are good opportunities for sales while most of the selling world focuses on the end of the year.

EASTER

The Christian holiday of Easter celebrates the rise of Jesus three days after his crucifixion. It is a solemn yet joyful day in all sects of Christianity. Depending on which sect, the celebration can be a day of prayer, community and reflection or one of gift-giving among loved ones.

Easter Baskets and Bunnies

Easter baskets full of eggs predate Christianity, representing new life at springtime, and was adopted by Catholics in the 12^th century. The Easter bunny is a carryover from 18^th century German immigrants and the legend of an egg-laying hare. Chocolate was an expensive treat and novelty until the 19^th century, when the company that would become Cadbury invented a technique to mold hollow chocolate eggs and fill them with other sweets, making them more affordable.

Today, the Easter basket is a mashup of all of the above (we could spend a whole blog just on Peeps), along with the more recent addition (or perhaps revival) of other kinds of gifts.

Curating a custom Easter basket is an Etsy shop niche. Made-to-order baskets from a selected menu of candies and small gifts are similar to any other personal-shopper model such as wedding/bachelorette/baby showers. The kind of treats/gifts you offer can be anything from Easter-specific to hobby/pop-culture-themed.

Halloween themed Easter baskets are great for kids or grownup horror movie fans alike. This particular shop offers personalized baskets that can double as Easter baskets or Trick-Or-Treat baskets in October:

And here’s a seller who both personalizes the baskets as well as curates specific horror/goth gifts inside:

Easter – Religious

Sects of Christianity that eschew the incorporation of the above-mentioned traditions are also Etsy shoppers. Shops catering to this niche are primarily in the décor, apparel and sticker verticals, primarily creating products that allow practitioners to make expressions of their faith visible.

The empty tomb is a striking image and many Etsy crafters have made handsome, creative décor items. Below is one of the more attractive and simplest décor pieces in that theme:

MOTHER’S DAY

Matriarchal celebrations can be traced back to the earliest civilizations, but the American holiday of Mother’s Day was officially created in 1908 by Anne Reeves Jarvis, who spent the prior 40+ years pioneering “Mother’s Day Work Clubs” to unify families divided by the Civil War. Ironically, Jarvis spent most of her remaining life rebelling against the over commercialization of Mother’s Day – a battle that she continues to lose posthumously with every greeting card and bouquet of flowers.

Mother’s Day also demonstrates spikes in many industries – it is the busiest day for phone calls and is considered the most hated day in the restaurant industry (if you’re a server, perhaps – the statistics in this article should raise the opposite sentiment in restaurant owners).

To Ms. (Mrs.?) Jarvis’ dismay, there are just as many ways to create unique gifts for Mother’s Day as there are mothers. The key to a successful Mother’s Day gift is speaking to what makes being a mother one of the most fulfilling experiences in life.

New Moms

For a new mother, it’s the joy of a new child. Gifts that commemorate a birth not only celebrate the recent occasion but become memorable keepsakes, décor or heirlooms, capturing a moment in time that cannot be recreated. Items that use the hand or footprint of the infant or photos of the child make perfect product for your shop. Personalized sublimation coffee mugs with images of the child are a daily reminder of the newborn, especially during those late nights when caffeine is the only thing keeping Mom awake enough to rock the crying baby to sleep.

The below is a great example of a one-of-a-kind memento that, though custom, can be replicated easily. Creating a template that can be digitally downloaded and simply adorned by the end user is a great opportunity for passive revenue.

Mature Moms

For the experienced mother who is the family’s glue, nothing speaks more to that noble endeavor than an expression of same from her brood. Gifts/keepsakes that remind Mom of the wonderful challenges of raising children, whether serious (“You’re the reason I am who I am”) or whimsical (“To the woman who put up with all my s**t until I knew better”) are always a great way to let her know her efforts are appreciated.

Below is a creative way to demonstrate how interwoven the family unit is, with Mom at the center.

MEMORIAL DAY

For most of us, Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer, a weekend of barbecues, pool parties and theatrical blockbusters (for those of you who don’t hide out with your streaming services, that is).

But there is no shortage of those who demand remembrance of the true meaning of Memorial Day, which is to honor American service men and women who have fallen in duty. Founded in 1868 to honor those who died in the Civil War, it is still the most solemn day of the year for anyone whose friend or loved one passed on while in uniform.

Commemorative mementos can be in the form of respectful gifts to a grieving family member or even a custom décor item requested by the griever. Below is, in my opinion, one of the most original and thoughtful mementos of a lost loved one, a personalized item from the deceased’s favorite pastime.

Spring technically lasts until the middle of June, and a search session on Etsy or keyword research on Sale Samurai will give you ideas on what kind of products you can still create to take full advantage of the season. Make this the year you don’t just focus on Black Friday but bring in revenue across the calendar.

Stay tuned…our next travel through time will be a look at Summer opportunities!