Etsy Going Physical With Macy’s Backstage

The online marketplace Etsy has connected with a big name in brick-and-mortal retail.

Racked shares the news (originally reported by WWD) that yesterday (Jan. 28) marked the debut of a physical Etsy store inside of Macy’s flagship location in New York’s Herald Square.

With that store’s basement level, called One Below, having been dedicated last fall as a millenial-focused floor, that’s where the Etsy shop — which the Racked story says will refresh every two months — will conduct its business, offering 57 products in the categories of jewelry, stationery and houseware to that highly targeted consumer group of tech-savvy young adults.

The story in Racked goes on to point out that the initial theme of the Etsy store at Macy’s Herald Square will be “New York” and will accordingly feature New York-based designers. On the Etsy end, that includes Aimée and Sara Schiwal of Hook & Matter; for Macy’s, Soledad Proano of Sol del Sur, Naomi Singer of Modern Mud and Meera Patel of Meera Lee Patel will be contributing exclusive items.

“The design team at Etsy, in collaboration with Macy’s, worked hard to bring Etsy’s brand into the space as well. We actually sourced all of the risers and tabletop fixtures from Etsy sellers,” Dana Mauriello, director of seller category growth at Etsy, told WWD.

While no decision has been made regarding turning the Etsy store into a permanent fixture at Macy’s Herald Square, Racked notes that Macy’s represents the biggest name physical retailer that Etsy has collaborated with to date. The online marketplace has previously engaged in similar ventures with West Elm, Nordstrom and Lou & Gray, while an arrangement with Whole Foods is currently in progress.