Etsy acquires fashion app Depop to reach younger audience

Online marketplace Etsy, which specialises in vintage and homemade stuff, is taking over second-hand fashion platform Depop. With this deal, the creative marketplace hopes to reach a younger audience.

Distinctive market position

Internet platform Etsy is paying 1.6 billion dollars (1.3 billion euros) to acquire Depop, a trendy British online marketplace for second-hand fashion. Depop will continue to operate as an independent marketplace from its current headquarters in London, with the existing management team, the company said in a press release.
 

According to Etsy, Depop holds a highly differentiated position in the rapidly growing second-hand market. The platform was founded in 2011 and grew by almost 80% annually between 2017 and 2020. Today there are already 30 million registered users in almost 150 countries. Last year, the app had 4 million active users and 2 million active sellers. Together, these generated some 650 million dollars (532 million euros) gross merchandise sales on the platform. Depop’s own revenues amounted to 70 million dollars (57 million euros).
 

With the acquisition, Etsy strengthens its position in the fashion market and also gains expertise in digital marketing and community building. Especially interesting is the fact that about 90% of Depop’s active users are younger than 26. This young audience is more interested in second-hand fashion than any other target group. In the US, Depop is the tenth most popular webshop among generation Z.