I Studied Top Etsy Shops in 2026 and Found One Thing in Common

Y'all, I have spent so much time studying Etsy shops to figure out if there is one thing that culminates success, what is it? So I have been studying Etsy shops that are crushing it in 2026 and have been. And there was one common theme that I saw across all shops. No matter if it is a physical product shop, a digital shop, a print-on-demand shop, what it is, there is one thing in common that every single one of them have. And today I'm going to break down what that one thing is. And if you want my honest opinion, this is something that I feel like a lot of Etsy sellers get wrong. So if you are ready to learn the one thing that I think is the main component to a successful Etsy shop, stick around because not only am I gonna talk to you about it, but I'm gonna show you proof and we're gonna walk through this so that you can kind of learn how to do this and how to figure this out for your own shop. If you are new here, my name is Lauren and I am a craft producer with Makers Gonna Learn, but I'm also one of the resident Etsy experts in our other program called Passive Earners Society. What Passive Earners Society is, is a very, very high touch one-on-one coaching program where you get expert help, you get in the room with six-figure Etsy sellers, you get a plan laid out for you, specifically designed for you to ensure that your shop gets traction where you're gonna learn how to create that passive income and how to create and how to build an Etsy business like never before. So just to clear the air and let you guys know, we have a link down below. If you are ready to dive in and go all in on yourself and your Etsy shop, click that link down below and apply for our program. You're gonna be able to grab a time slot with one of our success coordinators who will talk to you more about our program and see if we are a right fit for you. So if you know already that you're ready to go all in on yourself and your Etsy shop, go ahead and click that link down below. And y'all, here's the thing that the top Etsy shops have in common is the fact that they know their customer and honestly, they stick to very few products. So they know their customer, they stick to their bread and butter. And y'all, this is one of the most overlooked things, yet one of the most important things that you need to know as a business owner is your customer. Because when you know your customer, here's the thing, what you create next becomes an absolute no-brainer. You know your customer, you know what they want, so your creations just start flowing right through you. Compare that to someone who may not know their customer. If you don't know your customer, you may be creating, let's say, an SVG one day, and then the next day you're trying to create a print-on-demand listing because you don't really know your customer and you don't know where you're going. So knowing your customer means that your creations and your designs truly come so much easier. The next thing that is very important about knowing your customer is your SEO and tags. That's a no-brainer because when you know your customer and who you are selling to, you know exactly what they're searching, you know the terms that they are using, and it becomes second nature to write your titles and your tags. Another thing that becomes apparent when you know your customer, you stop competing with others on price and you start competing with connection. Not only does knowing your customer make these two things so much easier, it also makes mock-up creation a breeze because you know what they like, you know what your customer is looking for, you know what's gonna stop their scroll, so mock-ups become a no-brainer. You also, your repeat buyers start coming in over and over and over, and word of mouth, y'all, it goes through the roof because they probably know someone else that is like them and they start telling people, hey, this Etsy shop, they get us, you should go check them out. So knowing your customer is insanely important. So I told you at the first of this video that I had been doing my research, and I have, and I'm gonna show you some of these shops that know their customer, they know who they are selling to, and it's going to become apparent to you why this is so important. Now, before we dive into these shops, one thing I want to make clear is if you are stuck thinking, I don't know my customer, I don't really have an ICA, that's what we call an ideal customer avatar inside our program, that is what we are here to help you do. We are here to help you visualize your ideal customer avatar, figure out what they are shopping for, and honestly, bridge it between what we'll sell, what you like to sell, and finding your ideal customer avatar. That is our heart inside of Passive Earner Society and also holding you accountable to get your stuff done. So once again, if this is you, click that link down below. So let's go ahead and hop over to some of these shops so that I can show you. So the first shop that we are going to look at is this shop right here. Now, first thing out the gate, what are we noticing? So number one, I'm noticing that they are sticking to pretty much shirts and sweatshirts. That's about all this shop has in there. They have some other categories over here, but y'all, this is pretty much shirts and sweatshirts. But there is one thing in common with all of these, and that is the fact that they love cats. So this shop is dedicated to people who love cats. And honestly, some people who might like to show a little bit of their cattier side, if you will, but they know their demographic. They love to sell to people who love cats. And it is so apparent through all of their products. That is why they have found success because they are sticking to a very few different products, shirts and sweatshirts, but they have over 400 listings of just cat t-shirts. Now, do all of their shirts get views, clicks, sales? Probably not. But with this amount of volume in their shop for just cat lovers, it is bound, someone who comes here is bound to find something that they resonate with. And that is why this shop does so well. So we saw that their ideal customer loves cats and is pretty funny. That is a very specific person that they are selling to. And you can see in their stats that they are making it work. They have over 400 listings, very much humor-led designs, all cat-centric sub-niches. They have repeatable best sellers. Their mock-ups are good. They're not necessarily great, but they are bringing in the right people. So that is the first shop that I wanna talk about. The next one is going to be a digital shop. So let's go ahead and look at our next shop. This next shop is one that focuses just on digital download invitations. So their ideal customer is a party planner who truly just doesn't have the time to create the invitations themselves. This could be someone who is busy, not necessarily just a busy mom, but someone who wants to throw a great party, but just doesn't have the knowledge or the skill to create the invitation. And y'all, look at all of these different invitations that they have. I do truly feel like when it comes to digital shops, the more products, the better, because you do have a wider array of an ideal customer going from planning people who are planning a baby shower to a wedding, to a birthday party. But there is one thing that stays the same is the fact that they have created, they have used their design skills to create these amazing invitations that people are purchasing. And y'all, they have over 800 invitations in their shop. That is insane. The next shop that we're gonna talk about here is going to be this shop. Now, I'm specifically not giving you shop names because I don't wanna throw off their conversion rates by sending a bunch of people just to look at their shop. So we're just scrolling through to make sure you all see how they know their ideal customer. So immediately off the bat, who do you think their ideal customer is? I'm gonna give you just a few seconds to think about this before I give you the answer as I scroll. If you said a bride-to-be, then you are correct. They are creating products for brides-to-be and for the bridesmaids that are planning their bachelorette bashes or a bachelor party. And y'all, that is what they focus on. They don't focus on any other portion of the wedding, just bachelorette and bachelor stuff. And pretty much all they have in here is shirts and koozies. They have stuck to two products that is their bread and butter, which can also help build trust. You can see that there is consistency in their branding across the board with all of these different themes as well. And that is how you create repeat customers. I love how they have a shirt and a koozie to match with all of these different things. But like I said, they know their customer and that is someone who is getting married or someone who has a friend getting married and they're helping plan their bachelorette or bachelor party. Now, our next shop that I want you to look at has over 1,700 listings in their shop. So they have a little bit of something for everyone, but they are focused on one person and that is the person who does cross-stitch. All they have in their shop is cross-stitch patterns and that is it. And y'all, they know their customer and not only do they know their customer, they know that their customer does cross-stitch. So they are targeting people who do cross-stitch, but they have a wide variety of things to cross-stitch. And honestly, with shops like this, that is the key. They know their customer is someone who cross-stitches, but you do have to have a little bit more of a volume to kind of appeal to everyone because so they're not as sub-niche down as like the first one that is just humorous cats. That first shop that I showed you was very kind of sub-niche. This one is just made for those who create cross-stitch patterns, but still the volume, the sheer volume and the fact that they only have one type of product with all of these different designs is what truly helps make them a powerhouse here on Etsy. Now we've been doing some digital and some print-on-demand, but let me show you this next shop, which is a physical product shop. And that is this shop. And they do actual physical products that they make, but look at all the, first of all, the consistency in their branding makes my heart sing. I adore their consistency with all of this. You can tell they are building a brand, but they have lots of small little trinkets. Now with this shop, my honest opinion is that their ideal customer is either a teacher or a mom that is looking for something unique. Now they do very much go toward and gravitate toward a more boho look, but once again, they know who they are selling to and they know the people that they are selling to loves this boho style. So they have lots of teacher things, backpack, tags, birth announcement things. They have so many. So I feel like they have honed in on their ideal customer, which is either a mom and or a teacher or a gift buyer that loves kind of like a boho whimsy look. And you can see page after page after page, their brand has stayed consistent. And you can tell, oh, that definitely looks like it came from that shop. The next shop that we're gonna look at is this shop. And we're just gonna scroll. Look, they only have pretty much one or two products and that is baby swaddles. So they do have some birth announcements as well, but they have perfected creating these swaddles, especially personalized swaddles. Does look like they also have crib sheets, but their ideal customer is what? You got it, a new mom or someone who is purchasing for a new mom. That is who their ideal customer is. And once again, they have got this down pat and they don't have near as many products listed. They have the least amount of products listed of what we have seen with 143, but they are consistent with their mock-ups, with their branding. And like I said, they know that they are selling to new moms and that's it. Now this next shop is one that I think might blow your mind. And if nothing else, it's the fact that they have almost 300,000 sales in their shop. And that is this shop. And you guessed it, the only thing that they sell is temporary tattoos. Once again, their ideal customer is someone who wants to plan a really great party. Whether it's a bachelor party, a bachelorette party, a 30th birthday or someone that just wants to be funny, but they have figured that out and they are killing it. And y'all, I want you to look, literally 10 cents a piece, that is it. But they have figured out that selling to people who want to have a funny, silly, goofy party, that is their bread and butter. And I mean, it's proven because when I click on a listing, I saw this earlier, they've had so many seems to me like they've probably had enough orders that they've turned off purchasing for right now just to keep up. So once again, they know who their ideal customer is. So now I want to ask you a question and that is, do you really know your ideal customer? Like truly know them? And are you creating all of your products for your ideal customer? Because that is the important part is that we are consistently creating products for our ideal customer. Now, if you're sitting there thinking, no, Lauren, I don't even really know what an ideal customer is. Like, how do I even get there? That is what Passive Earner Society is for. We are here to help you bridge the gap on what you love or what you create and bridge that to who are you selling to and lay out a crystal clear roadmap on what you need to do next to start selling to your ideal customer. But here's the thing, we don't teach you just to go in there and list products. We help you figure out that ideal customer and teach you how to create shops like we just showed you. So if you feel like you are ready and you're like, yes, I want a shop that looks like that, I want to know my ideal customer, I want to turn this side hustle into a real scalable business, I want you to for sure click that link down below and apply. It costs you nothing, it is 100% free, and you can grab a time slot to talk to one of our success coordinators to see if we are a fit for you. So do not hesitate, click that link down below and apply for Passive Earner Society today. Because here is the thing, it's not about the product you're selling, it's about the strategy behind the product. And the strategy, it's always the same. Know your customer, give them exactly what they want, and do it over and over and over. Thank you guys so much for being here. If you've enjoyed this video, click that thumbs up button, subscribe to our channel. And we've actually collaborated with Passive Earner Society, our other channel. So if you want to know more about Etsy, hear some of the success stories, head on over to the Passive Earner Society channel and subscribe there as well. We'll see you guys in the next one. Bye guys.