Life in Quarantine

Etsy's Surge in Traffic Offers a Glimmer of Hope for Struggling Small Businesses

Shoppers are seeking out other alternatives for their essential items

illustration of a woman wearing a pink face mask — Etsy saw a bump in traffic from people searching for necessities like masks and also activities to keep them preoccupied during quarantine.Kacy Burdette

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Among the harvest of bad economic news wrought by Covid-19 is the plight of the mom-and-pop operator.

While mammoth retailers like Walmart and Amazon have seen shoppers flocking to their sites, smaller businesses (restaurants, corner stores, pet sitters, hair salons) have generally found themselves in dire straits. And as a recent paper from the Brookings Institution warned, “the pandemic crisis will … consolidate the grip that corporate retailers such as Amazon, Walmart and Target have on the trade and push out what small businesses are left.”

But