Amazon Prime Day 2018 was an overwhelming success for Amazon and many of its 3^rd Party Sellers.  With proper planning, smaller retailers can get in on the action for Prime Day 2019, as well as throughout the year.  As Amazon continues to grow, independent sellers can keep pace with the growth and reap the rewards that exposure within Amazon offers. The team at SAFIO Solutions has experience forecasting and planning for Amazon Marketplace business, and can provide your company with tools to experience an explosive Amazon Prime Day 2019.

PRIME DAY RESULTS

According to Amazon, Prime Day 2018 was the biggest shopping event ever, with over 100 million products sold in 36 hours.  They accomplished this, even with system glitches in the first few hours of the event where some customers were not able to complete their orders.  Prior to Prime Day 2018, Amazon reported it had over 100 million Prime members. Last week, they reported that Prime Day 2018 yielded more membership sign-ups than any other day in history!  This is the customer base of the future for Amazon Marketplace sellers.

INDEPENDENT SELLER RESULTS

Although Amazon is not sharing specific dollar amounts, early reports stated that sales on the 3^rd party marketplace were up 90 percent during the first 12 hours compared to last year.  Late in the day on Tuesday, Amazon said small and medium-sized businesses did over $1 Billion in sales globally, with over 2 million businesses taking part!

BENEFITS FOR INDEPENDENT SELLERS

There are many Prime Day benefits for independent sellers, including:

• Building customer base
• Increasing sales revenue
• Building brand awareness

PLANNING FOR AMAZON PRIME DAY

Planning for Amazon Prime Day should begin months in advance.  Steps should include:

• Take steps to meet Prime fulfillment requirements: shipping on-time with 2-day delivery. Sellers must be approved for Seller-Fulfilled Prime or FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) to be eligible to participate in Prime Day.
• Be aware of the deadlines Amazon has in place for submitting items
  • Sellers can apply to be included in Lightning Deals, Amazon coupons, and Deals of the Day.
• Plan and test advertising well in advance of Prime Day. Copy and images should be enhanced and SEO optimized for the most popular items to gain higher ranking over the competition.
  • If selling the same item as many other sellers, create “bundles” to differentiate yourself from the competition.
  • Plan your advertising budget and bids. Test pricing ahead of time.  Determine where volume increases while still making a profit.  Have a plan to bid for the “Buy Box”.
    • SAFIO Solutions utilizes tools to help businesses analyze their repricing sales velocity, giving them visibility to the “sweet spot”
  • Plan your inventory needs well in advance. Plan for an increase over historical numbers since the Prime membership customer base increases year over year.  Take lead time into account.
    • SAFIO Solutions’ proprietary software provides its users with a vision into the vital details of their product assortment. Demand forecasts are based on history and adjusted for the current trend.
      • Events like Prime Day can be built into the system to ensure that proper inventory levels are planned ahead of the lead time.
      • Users are able to compare different vendor and pricing scenarios, so the best strategic decisions can be made.
    • SAFIO Solutions’ Sales Analysis and Forecasting Tool© gives companies the ability to drill down and analyze sales trends by channel.  By separating FBA, MFN and other Amazon Marketplace sales, merchants are able to strategize the most advantageous channel and pricing strategy.
  • Remember to prepare for after Prime Day. There will most likely be an increase in customer returns and customer service issues.

EVEN SELLERS WHO ARE NOT PRIME-APPROVED CAN BENEFIT

Even if your company is not participating in FBA or isn’t Seller-Fulfilled Prime, sales can still increase due to higher traffic levels.  Non-Prime merchants can optimize sales by offering free or premium shopping and other deals.  They too can differentiate themselves by offering unique “bundles”, avoiding direct competition from other sellers with the same merchandise.  According to Entrepreneur.com, even items that are not a “Deal” can see increases of 60-70 percent.  Merchants should not think of Prime Day as a single day.  There is a “halo effect” which leads to increased sales and elevated rankings surrounding the actual event.

KEEP PACE AND FORECAST FOR AN EXPLOSIVE PRIME DAY 2019

There is a lot riding on Amazon Prime Day.  The results can be phenomenal for merchants who plan ahead and optimize their offerings.  The experienced team at SAFIO Solutions can help your company plan for this event and forecast sales and inventory to achieve explosive results.