Etsy's (ETSY -1.75%) growth potential could explode, and shareholders might want to consider holding their stock for the long-term. In this clip from "3 Minute Stocks Updates" on Motley Fool Live, recorded on May 11, Motley Fool contributor Brian Withers discusses the untapped opportunity that still lies ahead for the e-commerce platform.
Brian Withers: When you look at Etsy's business, it's pretty simple. You want more active buyers, buying more often and spending more money. [laughs] Pretty simple. Well, over the last five quarters, here's their active buyers, the ones that have purchased on at least one day in the past year, habitual buyers more than two buying days over the past year, and repeat buyers of more than six days. That isn't increasing the number of buyers. This is a concern. Absolutely a concern. I'm an Etsy shareholder. This chart bothered me. But, what the buyers are doing is they are spending more money. Look at the last couple of points in that curve. It's tailing off and it's flattening, also a concern. But there's hope here. Etsy is a U.S.-centric company still. You look at the majority of the active buyers are still in the U.S. When you look at the top seven of their core markets, the buyer penetration is below 50%. When you look at the next 15 markets beyond the U.S. and U.K., which are their largest markets, those 15 markets are about 80% lower than those top two Etsy markets. I love this quote right here. To put this size more clearly, these 15 countries have a combined population that is 58% larger than the U.S. and about $20 trillion in GDP. They have a whole opportunity that's as big as the U.S. in just 15 markets. I think Etsy's platform resonates well with people around the globe. I've bought stuff from Etsy sellers in Taiwan. It's a really neat business and I'm holding my shares.
