What is Prime Day?
Prime Day is Amazon’s greatest sales event. It was first celebrated on July 15, 2015, on the eve of the day that would mark 20 years since Amazon launched as an online bookseller. It’s held annually in mid-July for 1-2 days, usually starting on a Tuesday. So, Amazon Prime Day 2024 might fall on July 16-17.
As it’s exclusive to Prime members, Prime Day also happens to be Amazon’s most successful recruitment event of the year. Prime membership benefits vary across venues, but the perks include shopping, delivery, streaming, reading, healthcare, and gaming discounts and freebies.
What to Expect on Amazon Prime Day 2024
This being the 10th year that Amazon celebrates Prime Day, it has all the makings of a momentous event. All the more so since it takes place in 24 marketplaces this year. So, expect significant traffic spikes, increased competition, and high customer demand for discounts and fast delivery.
Also, bear in mind that the stakes are higher this year. Amazon has come up with lots of new features to boost customer engagement. Generative AI is now being used by Amazon to train palm recognition applications for biometric in-store payment, as well as sellers in their listings, advertisers in image generation, developers to generate code, and buyers searching for specific features.
This brings a few extra challenges as well as opportunities. On the one hand, your competitors might be able to fast-track listing creation and ads, beating you to it and taking away potential business. On the other, their listings could be faulty, with poor grammar, bad subtitling, and even inappropriate content. In the end, buyers will decide if AI-generated content is worth it.
Ways to Prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2024
If you plan to set up a campaign this Prime Day, then be sure not to miss the Amazon Ads Summit. It’s held on June 4 and 5. Highlights include a Helium 10 master class in keyword strategies for Sponsored Products, live demos on product page optimization, and ways to revamp your Store.
Should you miss the event, there’s no need to worry. As long as you’ve registered for it, you’ll get an email from Amazon explaining how you can access the content. However, the live Q&A session will not be available, as explained on the Seller Forums.
While you’re on the forums, be sure to check for updates. For instance, Amazon introduced 4 key metrics for brands in recent days. They are described in detail in the Build Your Brand guide, where you’ll also gain access to your other brand benefits, such as Analytics, Vine, and Project Zero.
Expert Seller Tips for Amazon Prime Day 2024
1. Stock Up Early
It’s crucial that you have enough inventory before Prime Day and you don’t run out mid-sale. Any FBA inventory should arrive at the fulfillment center by June 28. But factor in customs, weather, and carrier issues too. Be sure to check restock limits and replenishment recommendations before you ship.
Take a look back at data from previous years to see what types of products were in demand, how well you fared, and if any seasonal trends affected your stock levels. Negotiate with suppliers and place your orders quickly, if you’re still in the process of purchasing.
In terms of warehouse management, clear up any unsellable FBA inventory and make space for any incoming shipments. Bring the most popular items to the fore, making them easily accessible to pickers so that they ship out quickly. Once that’s taken care of, focus on your listings, as advised below.
2. Optimize Listings
There’s not much point in listing something on Amazon if the product listing is below par. As the Prime Day webinar below points out, optimizing your product listings with high-quality images, detailed descriptions, and relevant keywords is essential for improving visibility and conversion rates.
When it comes to images, only use ones that show your product from multiple angles, in a variety of settings, and with features and USPs clearly visible in several lifestyle images. Check reviews and questions from buyers for hints on what your images are lacking.
As for descriptions, they should be clear and concise, with size, features, and usage instructions that stand out. Note that Amazon recently launched a Size Chart Self-Serve Tool that can adjust sizes for up to 1,000 items at a time. This should help you improve accuracy and lower return rates for imported goods.
3. Amazon Advertising
Make full use of all the Amazon Ads available to you, such as Sponsored Brands and Video Ads, to enhance product visibility and drive traffic to your listings. After a quick recap of the basics of Amazon SEO optimization, go ahead and target specific keywords in your Sponsored Products campaigns.
To boost brand awareness, create Sponsored Brands ads that feature your brand logo, brandish your custom headline, and highlight your product range. For help creating your first Sponsored Brands ad, look no further than the Amazon Ads youtube channel.
In the days leading up to Prime Day, test different ad creatives and copy to determine what resonates best with your audience. Use data from A/B tests to refine your strategy. Make sure to allocate a decent budget for Prime Day 2024 to capture the surge in traffic. Monitor ad performance in real time, readjusting bids and budgets as you go.
4. Offer Competitive Deals
Offering attractive discounts and Lightning Deals can capture customer attention and drive sales during Prime Day. The submission window for Lightning Deals closed on May 17. Only sellers with more than 4 stars and products rated more than 3.5 could take part. If your deals were accepted, be sure to schedule limited-time promotions both on and off Amazon to drive traffic and create a sense of urgency.
If you’re opting for Prime Exclusive Discounts (PEDs), which are free to sellers, can be created at any time, and come with the Prime Day Deal badge, make sure your discount is at least 10%. You can apply a PED as a discount percentage, amount, or fixed price, it’s meant to boost CR and CTR, and it works best with an item that already has decent traffic.
But even without these deals, Today’s Deals, or Early Access Deals, you can still offer Prime coupons and universal coupons. When it comes to coupons, there’s a $0.6 redemption fee, and you can allow buyers to redeem several times. But the CTR and CR boost from the Coupon badge could be well worth it. Make sure your discount is competitive and consider bundling products to save on shipping.
5. Prepare for Peak Time
Nowadays, Prime Day is not so much a day, but more a whole week of sales, inquiries, and issues. To keep ensuring positive customer experiences and reviews, consider training and onboarding more staff to handle some of the promotions, requests, and returns that are specific to Prime Day 2024.
You’ll need updated scripts and FAQs that handle common queries efficiently. Set up templates and canned emails for common inquiries to save resources and shorten response time. If you’re a multichannel seller, use chatbots to assist with basic customer service tasks and offer real-time support via live chat or phone. Once you free up manpower, follow up with buyers to close cases quickly and maximize reviews.
6. Win the Buy Box with BuyBoxBuddy
On Amazon, your price plays a big role in your tango with competitors. It decides who the leader is. To help optimize your pricing strategies and boost your chances of winning the Buy Box, you need a tool that can automatically adjust prices based on competitor activity and keep them low without sacrificing margins.
With BuyBoxBuddy, you gain insights into Buy Box eligibility and performance in real time. You can use this data to tweak your prices, set your red lines, perfect your promotions, and boost your sales in the process.
On Prime Week, use a real-time repricer like Buy Box Buddy to price your products more aggressively. Set up your price limits in seconds, then leave it running, fully confident that you’ll always win and own the Buy Box for as long as possible, yet never make a loss.
A wise person might tell you that by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. This goes for Amazon Prime Day 2024 too. But with a tool like BuyBoxBuddy giving you the upper hand, you can capitalize on this significant sales event too. And with the right level of focus on Amazon advertising, Buy Box strategy, and Prime Day deals, you can make this Prime Day your best one yet.
Melanie takes an active interest in all things Amazon. She keeps an eye on the latest developments and keeps Amazon sellers up to speed.