Hello everyone! Today I want to talk to you about using trends in your handmade shop – not just what the 2022 trends are, but how you can understand them and especially how you can USE them in all sorts of ways to increase sales in your shop this year.
Etsy has a section on their website called Etsy Seasonal Tips where multiple times every year they release early trends. For example, the current 2022 early seasonal trends article talks about the coming year and what trends they foresee, as well as some more seasonal trends they expect to see in the first part of the year – such as trends for Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Later this year you will also see trend reports around the holiday season, as well as in the summer or maybe one for the second part of the year.
Now in this article I’m not going to talk about how to find and research trends because I have an article about this already that I will leave the link to at the end of this page. I also have a free downloadable trends workbook to help you do your own trends research when coming up with new products or collections— so make sure that you download it as well!
Today I’ll be talking about
One of the trends reports I will be talking about today is the Etsy trends report, because even if you don’t sell on Etsy this data is very valuable for you – the trends in the report are relevant to any handmade business whether you sell on Etsy or not.
So, ready? Let’s dive in.
I have broken the trends for 2022 down into subcategories, and the first one we’re going to discuss is color – because that is something we just have to talk about!
I have three points I want to talk to you about for color trends, the first one is Pantone.
Every year Pantone announces their color of the year. When I say announce, I mean that Pantone doesn’t forecast that this color will work, they essentially announce it. And then people start using this color because Pantone sets the trend. They are a really strong influencer in the color world – probably the most influential company in the world when it comes to color.
When they announce the color of the year, you can expect that big brands, big fashion designers, and big retailers will use that color or variation of that color in their product this year . . . so it’s very important to know what it is because as we start seeing it more and more customers will get used to it and then will want to start buying products that have that coloring too.
So let me show you quickly what this year’s trending color is, it’s called Very Peri and it’s essentially like a violet color:
Take a look at the color and think about if it will work for your brand. If it’s completely out of brand for you, that’s fine. But if it’s something that could work for your brand – even if you don’t really like that color yourself – consider using it.
[free] get your handmade trends workbook!
This free workbook includes a list of resources so you know where to look out for trends, and activities to help you make the most out of them!
Next let’s take a look at Etsy’s trend report. Even if you’re not selling on Etsy, I’m going to be mentioning the Etsy report a fair bit in this article simply because it’s a handmade industry report that is relevant for you whether you sell on Etsy or not.
This is a great report that shows what colors people were looking to purchase from smaller shops in a variety of categories; what handmade products they were actually looking for, what colors, and the trends in specific industries.
Etsy also announces a “color of the year” and they have named emerald as this year’s trending color. Now the difference between Etsy’s approach and Pantone’s approach is that Pantone sets the tone: they say “we want purple” and people go design purple.
What Etsy does is look at the data, and they determined that emerald has been searched for more on their platform, so they forecast that it will keep being searched for and be a big color for 2022. So it’s more based on the data that they already see.
So Etsy’s color trend is very important because it’s driven from customer data— people actually searching for emerald increased 67% in 2021 and Etsy expects that trend to continue.
So as you can see, this report is definitely valuable for any handmade shop, Etsy or not.
When looking at trending colors, you also want to think about what colors are going to complement those main colors, so what might look really good next to emerald, or what colors will look attractive with the Very Peri violet color. What I mean by this is you not only want to be open to using those trending colors, but also consider what the trends in terms of color palettes are.
When it comes to palettes, I like to go to the decor niche. So for example, go to paint company websites like Dulux or Benjamin Moore, and look at what they’re forecasting: the trends and the color palettes.
Let’s take a look at trending color palettes on Dulux.
In 2022 Dulux has three main trending palettes, not just one. This flourish palette is a trending 2022 palette that will complement a color like emerald green really well.
You can see the colors look rich, earthy, deep, and cozy – dark tones of blues, reds, and golds.
The second palette they have, Restore, is a bit more toned down and we see more neutral colors in earthy, natural, and light tones. This gives you a more muted, subtle option if that is a better match for your brand.
The last one is the Wonder palette, and we can already see the influence of the Very Peri color from Pantone. This palette is more poppy and joyful; it’s still toned down but it’s a lot more colorful than the other ones. And so if that’s where your brand feels more comfortable, then you can focus on this palette.
On the Etsy trends report it showed that searches for pastel room decor increased 2,600% last year. So showing this palette as a trending option to use makes sense.
So each of these palettes as you can see matches with a trend: emerald green, neutrals, pastels, or Very Peri, and you can choose what will work best with your brand.
Next let’s talk about societal and overarching trends, as in trends occurring across all niches and industries— fashion, decor, jewelry, you name it.
The two that I want to highlight today that are in the Etsy report under cross category trends are abstract shapes and 90s and Y2K nostalgia.
Etsy tells us that
“This year’s trending forms take inspiration from ancient influences like arches and pyramids, and evolve the rounded edges, squiggles, and scalloped shapes that have become so popular recently.”
They cite a 177% Year-on-year increase in searches on Etsy for squiggles, so it’s definitely an up-and-coming thing!
Now I have to admit – when I saw that 90s and Y2K were the nostalgia trend, it was a bit of a shock to my system because those are MY decades – like this is aimed at me!
I mean, I got gray hair fairly early in my 20s . . . I’m having a kid . . . but none of those ever made me feel as old as when I saw that the 90s and Y2K were being called out as the nostalgia trend . . . OUCH!
I had a bit of a moment of “no WAIT 90s are not nostalgia, I’m too young for that!” I’m sure any of you on the older end of the millennials can relate . . . we’re now a nostalgia trend 🤦♀️🤷♀️
When it comes to trends, there are the overarching trends that we just talked about, and then there are some trends that are going to be more specific to your niche that you need to be aware of.
In Etsy’s 2022 Trend Report they have a section called “category insights” that gives insights into trends in specific sales categories.
So for example, home and living talks about trends like versatility, novel shapes, and natural textures. Marble seems to be having a moment. Pastels are mentioned here as well, which makes sense we talked about there being an overarching theme.
In clothing, it mentions trends like 90s inspired – from velvet to bucket hats to sweater vests – which again makes sense because that was an overarching theme as well.
And if you’re in the jewelry niche you will see that statement pieces and brooches are staging a comeback.
So you can see that looking in your specific niche is important as you will gain more specifics on trends and how those trends are manifesting in your specific market.
I actually would highly recommend that you do extra research within your niche.
So for example, if you’re in the wedding industry, go and get some wedding magazines, get on some wedding websites and check out their blogs, and see what trends they are forecasting for weddings in 2022.
If you sell clothing, go to YouTube and find some big clothing or fashion influencers— what are they forecasting?
The same goes for any industry you might be in: go out there and use print, websites and blogs, and social media influencers to get a feel for specific trends.
You also will want to look at the trends in attitudes and behavior. It will help you connect with your customers and make the sale because you understand what they are going through.
Here are some of the latest trends:
There is a fair amount of research out there which shows that the pandemic has definitely changed how people think about their life and what they want from it. There is definitely a big push for self care, wellness, mental health, and burnout prevention. So if your products in any way can help with that, I would definitely use that as a way of positioning them.
People want to do things that are meaningful and they want products that are meaningful. They prefer to shop for things that have meaning to them in one way or another.
Another up-and-coming trend we are seeing is imperfect curation. People are a bit tired of everything being perfect, and so there’s actually this trend now of things like pictures with no filter, people with no makeup — SHOCKING, PEOPLE WITH NO MAKE UP CAN YOU IMAGINE 😱 – essentially showing up a little bit more raw and natural because people are just a bit too aware of how overly curated things have been in the past.
Now that’s not to say that there aren’t also some crazy filters on Instagram and Tiktok, but they are obvious, as in the people looking at them are aware they are filters.
But overall there is definitely a growing appreciation for imperfect curation. So if that’s something that would work for your brand it’s definitely something to consider tapping into.
I also want to talk about social commerce and video, and the fact that they are both going strong.
In social commerce we are seeing a trend where platforms like Instagram and Pinterest are making a big push towards ecommerce. This means that people stay on the platform to buy or to discover products; they shop and check out on the platform.
So it’s definitely something that you want to start doing whether you’re on Instagram or Pinterest— you want to be at the forefront of that trend, not catching up when everyone’s already using these features two years from now.
Videos continue to grow in popularity on social media, product websites, you name it. Etsy is even testing a video option called Etsy Explore where you can create and upload video posts for your shop’s home page on the Etsy shopping app.
So it’s obvious when you see these trends that social commerce and video aren’t going anywhere and that the 2 are more intertwined than ever!
Now I’ve given you some tips throughout this article as we were looking at different trends, but I want to summarize them here so you can see the wide variety of ways you can use trends for your business.
If I had to sum up what you can do with trends, I would say that trends can be used to get product ideas on many different levels, including:
. . . all without necessarily reinventing the wheel.
Think about it: you probably already have some products that you can offer in a pastel or an emerald, or another trendy color from those palettes and colors that we’ve talked about.
And so it’s not a new product, per se, but it’s a new offering in terms of the yarn color that you offer, the paper color that you offer, the clay color that you use for your jewelry, etc.
But don’t stop there!
I think that unfortunately using trends for new product creations is often where most people stop . . . but there’s so much more that you can use trends for!
Use trends for updating your shop, website graphics, and photo stylings. If you are using lifestyle images or mock ups in your product listings, for example, make sure the mockups and props reflect the current trends.
You also want the current trends reflected in the banner on your website or Etsy store.
On social media you will obviously have your product photos, but most of you are probably also using lifestyle images. Make sure that those reflect the current trends, the current colors, and different shapes that people like to see, so that your feeds and your social media posts look relevant and appealing.
Trends are also helpful to understand which products you can shine more light on this year. If you have some products that are aligned with the trends that we’ve just talked about you might want to push them a little more than some other products in your shop, either organically on social and with your email list, or by putting money behind them with paid ads.
And finally, trends are great for content creation and copywriting.
For content creation it’s all about video, you need to be diving into this if you haven’t yet. Video is becoming more and more prominent on everything from websites and blogs to social media, they all want us to do more video. Google rewards it in SEO results, visitors stay on pages longer – there are too many advantages not to dive into it!
For copywriting it’s really about your listings, descriptions and your captions on social media . . . which breaks down to how you position your products and the benefits your products offer.
For example, if your products are relevant to wellness or mental health, then definitely position them as such and make sure that you talk about this in your listing.
When writing captions, knowing the overarching trends is going to help you come up with content that’s going to connect with people a lot more on social media.
So for example, if you use funny memes as part of your social media content strategy, maybe those memes can be about fun, throwback topics from the 90s—because you know that is what people are into this year—the now famous “Nostalgia decade”! 🎊
Using trends results in better marketing, it’s really that simple.
The next thing you will want to do is download this free workbook to use as you read my article that shows you how to find trends on Etsy. The article will walk you through this process and before you know it you will be a trends expert for your product niche!
[free] get your handmade trends workbook!
This free workbook includes a list of resources so you know where to look out for trends, and activities to help you make the most out of them!
Thanks for reading, and until next time, au revoir!
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Download The handmade trends workbook
