With a flood in holiday shoppers, Etsy has optimized its iOS app specifically for Apple’s iPad. Additionally, the company has rolled out an Android app.

“An Etsy visitor on an iPad is likely to view more pages and spend more time on Etsy than a visitor on any other mobile device,” said Adam Brown, a spokesman at Etsy, New York.

“So, the first Etsy for iPad app includes features geared towards these highly-engaged users,” he said.

Mobile marketplace
Etsy previously made its foray into apps last year during the holidays in conjunction with a mobile site (see story).

Etsy claims that its app has racked up 3.5 million downloads in the past year.

The app has been optimized specifically for the iPad with features such as videos and product browsing.

For example, users can browse through gift guides as well as trend and lifestyle content that is curated by Etsy’s editors.

Images are highlighted throughout the app to inspire users to shop.

Given the massive amount of products that Etsy sells, product discovery is also a big part of the user experience.

Search features let consumers filter products by category. Results can also be filtered by relevance, price and date added.

Consumers can also flip through members’ favorite content as a way to discover new products.

Etsy prides itself on connecting artists and sellers to consumers. Building on that reputation, users can learn about the stories behind Etsy’s shops and sellers via the app.

With the iOS app that ran on iPhone and iPad devices, Etsy sellers were able to access tools such as shop stats and sales notifications via the app. The features are still available in the iPhone app and will soon be available in the iPad version, per Mr. Brown. 

Etsy has also launched an Android app that is geared specifically for shoppers versus sellers.

Consumers can buy more than 17 million items from their Android smartphones and tablets.

The app is available for free download from Google Play in English, German, French and Dutch.

Etsy’s Android app

Mobile sales
Similar to many other online retailers, Black Friday and Cyber Monday was a hit for Etsy with mobile.

From Black Friday to Cyber Monday, roughly one in three shoppers accessed Etsy from a mobile device. This is an increase from the 25 percent of mobile traffic that Etsy typically sees.

Thirty percent of mobile traffic came from tablets, showing how the devices are steadily chipping away at PC traffic as the preferred way for consumers to browse and shop.

“Mobile is a growing and important area for Etsy,” Mr. Brown said.

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York