Amazon has become one of the world’s largest and most successful e-commerce platforms. A major contributing factor to Amazon’s success is Prime Day, a biannual sales event that offers exclusive discounts and deals to Amazon Prime members. This post shares some of the key things retailers should consider when looking to maximize their returns on future Prime Days.
What is Prime Day?
Amazon Prime Day is a sale first launched in 2015 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amazon. Since then, it has become a highly anticipated sale, with customers eagerly awaiting competitive deals and discounts. The event typically lasts 48 hours, during which members can access deals across a wide range of categories.
Prime Day has had a massive impact on the retail industry, with many businesses experiencing increased sales during the event. Even brands who do not yet sell on Amazon have gotten in on the action by scheduling their own sales around Prime Day to capitalize on the increase in consumer purchasing. There are lots of potential benefits for retailers who take advantage of this sale period!
Preparing for Prime Day
Planning and preparation are crucial to maximizing success regarding Prime Day. Retailers need to set realistic revenue goals and optimize their product listings and brand stores to ensure maximum visibility of their product offerings, especially when offering big-ticket items.
Leading up to the Prime Day Sale, consumers tend to begin shopping for products they are interested in purchasing during the sale. Retailers should look to drive awareness to their product offerings during this ramp-up period. Utilizing Sponsored Display Ads and Sponsored Brand Ads can help to raise awareness and consideration before the sale. Longer ramp-up periods will allow for greater ad learnings before Prime Day and can help brands maximize their return.
In preparation for the sale, retailers should also plan to keep larger quantities of inventory in stock on Prime Day to ensure returns are not limited by stock issues. Amazon notes that FBA shipments can take up to 6 weeks during peak periods, such as Prime Day and Q4, so retailers need to plan accordingly.
Retailers can also create a marketing campaign specifically for Prime Day to promote their products and deals. This can include email marketing, social media, search advertising, and Amazon Sponsored Product ads.
Strategies to Increase Revenue on Prime Day
Retailers can utilize several different strategies to increase revenue during the sale. One effective pricing strategy is to offer significant discounts on select products to attract customers. Retailers can also bundle products together or offer cross-selling options to encourage consumers to purchase more items.
In addition to these strategies, retailers should utilize Amazon Ads to increase the visibility of their product offerings, thus increasing traffic and driving sales. These ads can include Sponsored Product ads, Sponsored Brands ads, and Sponsored Display ads.
Monitoring campaigns closely during the sale to ensure efficient spend is being prioritized. Watching the campaigns can ensure that top-performing campaigns are not running out of budget or decreasing spend on campaigns that are not driving conversions.
Post-Prime Day Follow-Up
In addition to executing a strategy for Prime Day itself, retailers should create a plan for marketing activities after Prime Day. These follow-up efforts allow retailers to maintain customer engagement and build long-term relationships. Retailers can analyze key performance indicators, such as ROAS, ACoS, Cost per Conversion, and Revenue, to ensure they saw the desired results from their promotions as well as set expectations for future Prime Days and see where there is room for further improvement. Measuring new-to-brand metrics can also provide valuable information, especially when trying to build long-term relationships with customer engagement tools.
Participating in Amazon Prime Day can be a great way for retailers to boost sales and engage new customers. To prepare, retailers should focus on planning and preparing leading up to the sale, creating effective marketing strategies across multiple channels, and using effective pricing strategies and advertising tools to increase revenue. Utilizing the time after the sale to reengage buyers can also help to nurture long-term relationships.
If you need further support and guidance in optimizing your Prime Day strategy, schedule a free discovery call with our team to discuss your specific needs!
