Just in time for the holidays, Amazon launched a new gift shop for its Handmade shopping portal, offering a selection of handcrafted items in a variety of categories. It’s the latest blow to Etsy, the creative platform struggling to hold off the e-commerce giant.
Amazon Handmade originally launched in 2015, and now offers almost 90,000 products in categories including for her, for him, for kids, for baby, for the couple and more. Items range from jewelry to tie clips to cutting boards, clocks and baby bibs.
The launch of the gift shop and a focus on holiday gift giving plays into the notion that shoppers are attracted to handmade items for certain occasions. The homepage for the site was featuring Halloween gifts and décor on Monday.
Shares of Etsy were down more than 3 percent in Monday trading. CNBC reported that the company, which went public in 2015, has struggled with slower sales as Amazon and others have offered a platform for the sellers that Etsy caters to.
Etsy has had to spend more on marketing, changed CEOs and slashed its workforce by about 22 percent, CNBC reported.
“The Handmade Gift Shop takes the stress out of shopping for gifts by providing thousands of one-of-a-kind, handcrafted gifts with the convenience and trust that customers already love about Amazon,” said Katie Harnetiaux of Amazon Handmade in a news release. “Every item on Amazon Handmade has a story behind it — and after hearing from customers and artisans, we are thrilled to make gift shopping an experience they will look forward to.”
