Amazon is getting ready for its third and most successful Prime Day event yet, and so should we. Here are a few things to consider before 9 pm ET on July 10, to make sure that you have more business coming your way.
It seems like only yesterday that we shared our Prime Day prognosis with our readers. Well, now it’s official. Amazon Prime Day 2017 is on July 11. The deals will start rolling in at 9 pm ET (or 1 pm GMT) on July 10, the day previous, and so will the orders.
What’s New?
With Amazon Prime members from 13 countries signing up for the event – that’s 4 more countries than the last time -, sales are bound to dwarf last year’s estimated $2.5 billion globally. Also, let’s not forget that Amazon threw in a 30-day free trial offer and even a last-minute membership discount to sweeten the pot.
But that’s not all. In a recent Press Release, Amazon highlights this year’s new and tempting Prime perks, including:
- Deals grouped into themes;
- Voice-enabled shopping via Alexa;
- Deal alerts for watched and waitlisted items via the Amazon App.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=vCX_ERiBt1Y
The Checklist
So, what’s in it for you? Amazon expects 40% of ‘Lightning Deals’ to be offered by small businesses and entrepreneurs. But most sellers stand to gain from Prime Day, not just the ones who signed up for deals on July 10 or the day after. That could include you if you follow this checklist:
1. Prime Day Deal
Although fees doubled to $300 in 2016 and then rose to $500 this year, it’s clear that money is no object for the sellers hoping to make the most of Amazon’s 23rd birthday.
If you’ve signed up for Lightning Deals, then you’re bound to enjoy unprecedented levels of attention. Be prepared for a ‘halo effect’, and stock up on supplementary items, accessories, and add-ons, as well as packing inserts, business cards and even freebies to make the most of the hype.
In the run-up to Prime Day, you can try to cautiously tweak your prices to fine-tune your pricing strategy, test the waters and gauge the demand.
2. Replenish Stock
Even if you’re not one of the lucky few who signed up to sell on the 30-hour ‘day’, you could still be pulled along in the slipstream of a Lightning Deal. That happens when you sell supplementary items, such as batteries, screens, cases, memory cards or phone pouches to customers who’ve just snatched a bargain on a phone, for instance.
So, check your inventory levels, spruce up your product pages quickly, and make sure you have enough in stock. It’s especially important this year because there will be more mobile shopping than ever before – Tuesday is a work day, after all. So, expect more sales during work hours than on other Prime Days. For that matter, expect more sales because this is the first time Prime Day is running for more than 24 hours.
3. Increase Buy Box Percentage
You can also expect money to trickle down to you if buyers trying to save time and money choose to switch from doing their regular grocery shop in-store to online on Prime Week, to consolidate orders. These could be last-minute holiday supplies and outdoor products, for instance. Of course, if you don’t own the Buy Box, then that’s not very likely, and it could even translate into less traffic than normal.
4. Market and Boost Campaigns
If you’re happy with the inventory you have, you don’t have a Prime Day Deal, and you’re interested in harnessing the extra traffic on Prime Day without focusing on the Buy Box, then you could try some new advertising techniques.
Enhanced Brand Content is a good way to draw attention to your products. But don’t just sign up for Sponsored Products on the day. Make sure you test the features first. Once you get the hang of it, try to:
- Create more campaigns to increase visibility;
- Add more keywords for better Click-Through-Rates;
- Monitor the most productive keywords and campaigns;
- Increase your Daily Budget and Cap in the coming days;
- Increase your bids for more impressions;
- Turn Bid+ on and let Amazon increase your bids automatically.
5. Expect the Unexpected
Let’s be realistic: Prime Day won’t overthrow the holidays in terms of sales this year. But it has every chance of beating last year’s $3.39 billion Cyber Monday record. Hopefully, everything will run smoothly, and there won’t be any technical glitches, like last year’s Add to Cart incident or the more recent product page mix-up. But just in case this Prime Day doesn’t turn out to be bigger and better than ever before, try to spread out your deals and price tweaks evenly throughout the 30-hour event.
Every problem has a corresponding solution. Don’t stop until you find it!
Daniela is our Sellery expert, if you have a problem she can help you find a solution.