My user account has been included in this new test so my shop, and others shops I view also have the new store front changes.
The photo below shows my new store front look.
As you can see they have now removed the shop banner, made the listing photos bigger, the shop sections are now in a drop down menu and feedback, sales, admirers and shop info are more prominent.
So here are my thoughts on this new look.
The lack of banner takes away the more personal touch you had for your shop. After looking at a few other other Etsy shops, this lack of personalisation makes all of the shops look very similar.
Your shop info / announcement has also gone from the main shop page.
The shop admirers button also seems to be a problem as when you now click on it, it does not only show admirers but many items. I have noticed in the last few days of the change I have received an increase in shop admirers. Good you say? No, not really. The newest of my shop admirers have at least 19,000 (and some even as many as 250,000) favourites. Some users on the Etsy Teams and forums are speculating, myself included, that this will be a new form of spam, by liking your shop these users have an increased chance of your shop visitors visiting them.
I have seen members discussing in the Etsy forums and teams that this change is causing them to lose sales and views. Although I have not seen this as of yet on my shop.
Also you do not seem to be able to rearrange the items in your shop, the 4 featured items option has also gone.
I do like that the 'info & policies' and 'about the shop' sections are more obvious on the new look. They where somewhat hidden before.
Overall I am not keen on this proposed new look. It makes all the shops look sterile and too uniform for my liking.
What do you think of these changes? Are you part of the test also? Let me know what you think about it in the comments below.
Please note: This is not yet a permanent change to Etsy store fronts, it is just a test present. Not all users will see the new mode.
It looks like every other selling site. I always liked the quirky nature of etsy and it had more of a classic look. This looks generic and pants.....me no like x They havent changed mine as yet. Oh bad move Etsy x
ReplyDelete'Generic', yes! That's the word I was looking for.
DeleteThe new look reminds me a lot of ebay actually :/
My shop is running with the new look when I open it on my home computer but not elsewhere. I don't like it! Very bland and generic. I really hate that you can't rearrange items either... I use that feature pretty frequently.
ReplyDeleteMe too, I thought it was good to be able to move items around so you could more of a selection rather than lots of similar items all lumped together.
DeleteI took a look at my shop on another computer and without logging in but I still saw the new store front x
I just visited a site without being logged in and was very confused. I don't think I like it, didn't do a lot of exploring, but... It is one of the reasons that I have been heading away from etsy, they keep changing things. Just when we get good at being shop owners, they change it and we loose people. Just sort of sad.
ReplyDeleteTaking away the banner did remove the personal touch but I like the larger images because it's easier to see the detail. I wish that Etsy would put the banner back and keep the larger images as well. Now Etsy looks like eBay, very generic. I always liked Etsy because it was unique, like shopping at a craft fair.
ReplyDelete