The Crafts Report: Industry Statistics

Survey Methodology:

The Crafts Report's Two-part Survey of Craft Sales on the Internet
Part I: "Are Craftspeople Making Money on the Internet?"
Part II: "Are Crafts Retailers Buying and Selling on the Internet?"

Part I and Part II of TCR's surveys were conducted by TCR staff. The objective of the surveys was to present an objective and representative portrait of craft sales on the Internet for both craft artists and retailers. The information is intended to be statistically accurate and informative, though not scientifically valid (no statisticians or research consultants were employed in the survey development, data collection process, or analysis).

The methodologies involved in Part I and Part II of the survey were slightly different.

Part I --
"Are Craftspeople Making Money on the Internet?"
The survey was distributed to craft artists through various means:

It was announced in related articles in TCR to reach TCR's subscriber base and newsstand clientele.

Ads were run in TCR announcing the survey and encouraging craft artists to participate by filling out the survey form on TCR's Web site, and submitting it electronically.

The survey was promoted on the home page of TCR's Web site, which is viewed by approximately 20,000 people per month.

Part I of the survey was accessible online for three months, from May 15, 2000 through Aug. 15, 2000.

Due to the above "distribution methods," one factor is considered to potentially cause an unintended bias in the results: The survey could only be completed online, thus limiting respondents to those with access to the Internet, either through a home computer or through a public access site. This survey distribution method was selected for its cost-effective ability to reach a large pool of professional craft artists, and is believed to present representative information due to the nature of the survey (who better to respond to a survey about craft sales on the Internet than those craftspeople who have access to the Internet).

The Response
TCR received a total of 387 responses to the survey, though not every person responded to every question. Percentages were based on the number of respondents for each question. The total number of respondents for each question were:

*Multiple answers were accepted for these questions.

Part II --
"Are Crafts Retailers Buying and Selling on the Internet?"
Part II of the survey was distributed via all of the distribution methods listed for Part I of the survey, however, due to a lower initial response rate than was received for Part I and than was expected, two additional methods of distribution were used:

The survey was mailed directly to a list of 1,000 retailers, randomly selected from a database of craft retailers in the U.S., of both subscribers and non-subscribers to TCR.

The survey itself was published in TCR to provide retailers who had no Internet access the opportunity to participate. Retailers could fax or mail the survey to TCR.

75 percent of retailers submitted the survey via the mail or fax. Only 25 percent filled out the survey online and submitted it electronically.

Part II of the survey was accessible online for one week less than three months, from Aug. 28, 2000 through Nov. 15, 2000.

The Response
TCR received 83 complete survey forms from retailers, a significantly lower response than was received for Part I of the survey. The response rate to the direct mail effort, where 1,000 surveys were mailed directly to a random sampling of craft retailers, was 6.2 percent, which falls within standard response rates for survey mailings with no "incentive" offered.

While the number of respondents to Part II of the survey was fairly small, the respondents may have represented a more random sampling than Part I of the survey due to the distribution methods used for each.

Percentages were based on the number of respondents for each question. The total number of respondents for each question were:

*Multiple answers were accepted for these questions.