Amazon Prime Day has become one of the biggest e-commerce shopping events of the year. It outsold Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined in 2019 with more than 175 million items sold. Originally created to celebrate Prime members on Amazon’s 20th birthday, it has since grown into a 2-day extravaganza of sales and deals. To be successful on this big shopping holiday, also known as “Christmas in July,” we’ve decided to give Amazon sellers the best tips and tricks to prepare for Prime Day.
How COVID-19 Affects Prime Day
In the wake of a global pandemic, Amazon had to delay Prime Day last year due to supply chain and fulfillment center issues including keeping up with demand.
Things to Consider about Prime Day:
- Many Amazon customers have lost their jobs or have tightened their spending due to COVID-19, which means little disposable income. Unfortunately, this could affect sales on Prime Day.
- If people continue to spend less and supply chains are unable to meet current demands, Amazon could cancel Prime Day. Though, that seems unlikely.
- With customers still limiting themselves on where they can shop, they continue to look to Amazon—71% of consumers reported shopping on Amazon during the pandemic.
- Since customers are committed to saving money and limited on where to shop, the millions of deals offered on Prime Day would be hard to ignore.
10 Tips & Tricks to Prepare for Prime Day
- Pick the Right Products to Highlight: Prime Day is not the time to focus on slow-moving products or ASINs that struggle. Instead, we recommend promoting your more successful products or your best-selling ASINs. High-performing products have better sales and are more heavily promoted through Amazon’s algorithm. By focusing on these products, you will see an increase in sales and your return-on-investment. Not sure what to focus on? Partner with WishingUWell for the best recommendations. Contact us today!
- Check Your Inventory Levels: Running out of inventory is the worst thing an Amazon seller can do. It’s important that you check your inventory levels before Prime Day. This ensures you have enough to account for the increase in sales. Look at your historical data and see how your best-selling products have performed in the past—especially during peak shopping times. If you forecast correctly, you’ll have enough inventory for Prime Day and the rest of the month.PRO TIP: Still unsure how to forecast for Prime Day? We recommend purchasing an extra week’s worth of inventory to be safe.
- Invest in Listing Optimization: If you haven’t already, it’s time to optimize your product listings. By doing so, you will increase your organic growth on Amazon as well as increase conversation rates for Prime Day. Including relevant, high-value keywords will help place your listings higher on Amazon’s search results pages. Much like Google, shoppers only view the highest and most relevant search results first. See how WishingUWell’s optimization services have benefitted other brands.
- Audit Your Listings: Listings on Amazon can change at any time. Amazon sellers need to perform regular audits to confirm that all the information is accurate and fully optimized. This will help increase sales overall, but especially on Prime Day. Avoid customer dissatisfaction by verifying that your titles, feature points, product descriptions, images, and A+ Content are up-to-date.
PRO TIP: Still using Enhanced Brand Content (EBC)? Are you brand registered? If yes, then you need to switch to A+ Content. Unlike EBC, this type of content doesn’t take away your product description. Product descriptions are a vital opportunity to include additional keywords. Resulting in your listings ranking higher on search result pages. - Fix Inactive or Suppressed Listings: Don’t waste time on promoting listings that are out-of-stock, blocked, have a pricing error, or are missing pertinent information. Be diligent and perform extra checks before Prime Day!
- Request Reviews: Amazon recently introduced its “Request a Review” button, which everyone should use leading up to Prime Day. It will help Amazon sellers gain extra reviews and give your listings’ ranking a boost. Need help getting early reviews for products new to Amazon? Learn more about the Early Reviewer Program.
- Use Amazon Advertising: Increasing your exposure and driving additional traffic to your listings could be the deciding factor of your Prime Day success. We highly recommend using Amazon Advertising as a way to stand out from the competition. Use dynamic bidding and don’t forget to increase your daily budget—we recommend 2-3x’s your normal daily budget.
PRO TIP: Invest heavily in Sponsored Products. This ad-type will showcase any Lightning Deals or Coupons offered for that product—and Amazon customers are looking for a deal! - Use Amazon Promotions & Deals: By pricing lower than competitors, or pricing competitively, your products will stand out. But, promoted discounts and price cuts align with the theme of Prime Day—you have to offer a discount. We recommend Amazon Coupons as they are a great way to grab the attention of bargain-hunters and they won’t sacrifice your margins. Amazon has Prime Day deadlines for promotions so remember to submit them early!
- Manage Negative Reviews: Before Prime Day, you need to manage your negative reviews and start engaging with your customers on Amazon. This will help you gain the trust of potential customers and increase confidence when they purchase your products—fix issues or simply answer questions.
- Generate Social Media Buzz: Creating a buzz on your social media channels is an excellent way to start promoting your products, your brand, and even Prime Day itself. Use engaging content and lifestyle images to capture your audience’s attention and let them know that you’ll be offering discounts on Prime Day.
PRO TRICK: Don’t forget to use Prime Day-specific hashtags when promoting your brands and products on social media. Include: #AmazonPrimeDay #PrimeDay2020 #PrimeDayDeals
Amazon Tips for Leftover Inventory
- Try Amazon Outlet: According to Amazon, “Outlet deals and sales can help increase sell-through, improve cash flow, optimize inventory levels, and reduce total storage fees.”
- Continue Markdowns: Keep your coupons active after Prime Day to continue selling through your access inventory.
- Negotiate Buybacks: Before making your inventory purchases, negotiate a buyback option with suppliers.
Final Thoughts for Amazon Sellers on Prime Day
As an Amazon seller, Prime Day has to be an integral part of your selling plan. It’s more than a day to boost sales, it’s a great opportunity to build brand awareness and gain traction with potential customers. Remember, the most important steps you can take to be successful on Prime Day are the steps you take leading up to it. As the boy scouts say, “Alway be prepared.” Use this busy shopping day (or days) as a way to build your business and increase sales overall.
Need help with your Amazon Prime Day strategy?
Contact WishingUWell today—our experts are here to help you with all-things Amazon!
