Prime Day is back! The highly anticipated day for incredible deals is scheduled for July 16th and 17th. But even though Amazon event is only days away, there is still time to fine-turn your Prime Day strategy – even if you aren’t an Amazon seller.
Prime Day now rivals Black Friday and Cyber Monday as one of the year’s biggest shopping events. How big is Prime Day? In 2023 Amazon Prime Day generated $11.9 billion in sales globally with more than 300 million items purchased worldwide. That represents more than eight times the average daily revenue for Amazon – all in a single event. That made the 2023 Prime Day event the single largest sales day in Amazon history.
Prime Day is no longer only for electronics and high ticket items. Low-ticket and non-Prime event items also see a boost in sales just because of the overall increase in traffic to Amazon. In fact, more than half of Prime Day transactions are for less than $30.
While the deadlines for Lightening Deal submissions and getting inventory to FBA fulfillment centers have long passed, here are eight strategies to make the most of the Prime Day shopping frenzy.
- Not every Amazon seller receives official recommendations for Prime Day discounts. So consider creating an Amazon coupon or offering your own deep discounts on high-converting items. Prime Day is a great way to get your product in front of new customers and encourage trial. While only Amazon-recommended products can participate in “official” Prime Day deals and be on the Prime Day dashboard, the marketplace algorithm will rank deeply discounted products high in search results. That will increase your chances of making it to the Deal page – the second most visited page on Amazon. But most importantly, make sure you have the inventory in place to support increased sales.
- If you are a non-Amazon seller, create your own selling event. Promote a flash or lightning sale. Create “bundle and save” deals. Offer free or expedited shipping. Free, fast shipping is often one of the most powerful strategies in creating your own event since free shipping is one of the biggest benefits of Prime. There is still time to create a dedicated landing page (which will increase conversions) and leverage your email list to promote your “Prime Day” event.
- If you are already buying ads on Amazon, increase your budget to drive traffic to your product detail pages. It will be expensive. Experts recommend a 2-5X increase in ad spending and you’ll need to increase your bids by 25-35% to stay competitive and ensure ads remain above the fold. So you’ll want to focus on high-converting products and those with the healthiest margins or where increasing trial or market share is important. You may also want to pivot ad budgets allocated for other channels to Amazon to drive potential buyers to your Amazon storefront during Prime Day week.
- Starting today, increase the number of paid and organic posts to your Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social pages. Focus the messaging around your Amazon deals and discounts to create hype for your Prime Day deals or special pricing. Also, don’t forget your email list. Reminders that lead up to Prime Day will help keep you top of mind with your loyal customers.
- Many Prime Day shoppers will search for your product on Amazon – but also check it out on other channels, especially your own branded web store. Customers expect huge discounts on Prime Day. Apply the same discounts to purchases made on your branded website. You’ll come out ahead by saving on Amazon fees plus having the ability to market directly to buyers in the future.
- After the big day, use advertising to re-engage your audience. Data shows that there is higher category search volume in the two weeks following Prime Day. Target your sponsored ads to re-sell, upsell and cross-sell Prime Day buyers, Leverage display ads to those who have not purchased from you.
- Watch your metrics. Keep a close eye on the data – checking it every couple of hours so you can pivot tactics as needed. Watch your advertising spend and make sure you have a direct line to decision-makers to increase it if needed. Then, when the dust settles and Prime Day is over, schedule a postmortem to assess your 2024 efforts and plan for 2025. But Prime Day tends to have a “halo effect” with sales increasing for a week or two after the event. So plan it for early August when all the data is in.
- And remember, since 2022 Amazon has run another Prime event in the Fall, so now is the time to use what you’ve learned to prepare for that event. Job one? Start building your base of customer reviews on Amazon. Authenticated customer reviews are the most critical influencer of the online buying decision. Work on gaining these testimonials to get your product noticed when the next Prime event arrives.
Billions of dollars will be spent online this year on July 16-17. Use these last-minute tips to make sure your brand gets its fair share.
