Etsy buys Depop for $1.6bn in bid to attract Gen Z shoppers

Etsy, which operates a two-sided marketplace connecting small business owners and creatives with shoppers, has signed a deal to purchase community-led app Depop in a bid to boost appeal to a younger market.

Approximately 90% of Depop’s active users are under the age of 26, buying and selling second-hand and handmade unique garments.

According to Depop, it has high awareness within the Gen Z demographic in terms of resale fashion, and is the 10th most visited shopping site for Gen Z consumers in the US.

Following the acquisition, Depop will continue to be headquartered in London and act as a standalone business operated by its existing leadership team.

Depop will be one of three of Etsy’s ecommerce “house of brands” - which includes its eponymous website, and vintage music marketplace Reverb.

The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021.

Etsy chief executive Josh Silverman said:  “We are simply thrilled to be adding Depop — what we believe to be the resale home for Gen Z consumers — to the Etsy family. 

“Depop is a vibrant, two-sided marketplace with a passionate community, a highly-differentiated offering of unique items, and we believe significant potential to further scale. 

“Depop’s world-class management team and employees have done a fantastic job nurturing this community and driving organic, authentic growth in a way that aligns well with Etsy’s DNA and mission of keeping commerce human. 

Come for the clothes, stay for the culture

“We see significant opportunities for shared expertise and growth synergies across what will now be a tremendous ‘house of brands’ portfolio of individually distinct, and very special, ecommerce brands.”

Depop chief executive Maria Raga added: “We’re on an incredible journey building Depop into a place where the next generation comes to explore unique fashion and be part of a community that’s changing the way we shop.

“Our community is made up of people who are creating a new fashion system by establishing new trends and making new from old. They come to Depop for the clothes, but stay for the culture. 

“We’ll now take an exciting leap forward as part of the Etsy family, benefiting from Josh’s and his team’s expertise, and the resources of a much larger company whose values are so aligned with ours here at Depop.”