A Seller’s Guide to Year-Round Amazon Success

Key Takeaways 

• Amazon’s strategy of holding two Prime sale events annually, Prime Day in July and Prime Big Deal Days in October, offers sellers a significant opportunity to boost sales, capture early holiday shoppers, and bridge the gap between the July promo period and Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. But success isn’t bound to these seasonal promotions. 

• To maximize success on Amazon year-round, sellers should analyze their past performance, optimize product listings with relevant keywords and high-quality content, and ensure adequate inventory and effective advertising strategies. 

• Ensuring a seamless customer experience through prepared customer service and efficient fulfillment processes, along with real-time performance monitoring, is crucial for adapting strategies and capitalizing on opportunities on Amazon. 

Amazon Prime Day and Amazon Prime Big Deal Days have become significant events on the calendar for both consumers and sellers, with the latter group especially benefiting from a substantial influx of traffic and sales. 

For example, a sports category brand saw an impressive sales lift from running a two-day Prime Day promo on Amazon, especially when compared to the previous year when the company did not run a promo.  

This not only illustrates the importance of leveraging big sales events to boost business, but it also shows the cost of doing nothing. You can’t just list your product for sale and hope for the best; you have to be intentional about your optimizations and promotions to win the most business. What’s more, you don’t have to only do this when gearing up for Prime Day or Big Deal Days. You could be seeing these types of results year-round. 

Amazon’s decision to hold two sales annually has proven to be a game changer. Traditionally held in July, Prime Day offers a midyear boost for sellers. However, by introducing a second event in October, Prime Big Deal Days, Amazon has effectively extended the selling season into Q4, allowing sellers to capture early holiday shoppers. This trend shows no signs of slowing down, with expectations high for another Prime Big Deal Days this fall. For sellers, this presents an additional opportunity to reach a broad audience and drive significant sales as the year ends. 

But sellers don’t have to wait for Prime Day or Prime Big Deal Days to leverage the types of strategies that lead to boosted sales. Here are some things you can do to grow your Amazon results, both during promotional events and throughout the rest of the year: 

• Analyze past performance. Reviewing your sales data will help you identify what strategies have been successful and what areas need improvement. Pay close attention to which products have sold well, which promotions have attracted the most customers, and any feedback or reviews that could offer insights into customer preferences. This analysis will form the foundation of your strategies moving forward.
   

• Optimize your product listings. It’s essential to optimize your product listings to ensure maximum visibility and conversion. This includes updating your listings with relevant keywords, high-quality images, and compelling product descriptions.
   

• Assess your inventory. Make sure you have an adequate stock of your best-selling items to avoid missing out on potential sales. While Amazon’s inventory tools offer general guidance for replenishing inventory, it is critical for sellers to carefully and manually assess inventory, including upcoming promos and seasonality.
   

• Leverage promotional features to stand out. Advertising is a powerful tool that can help you stand out. In the weeks leading up to a promotional event like Prime Day or Prime Big Deal Days, consider increasing your budget for sponsored ads to boost your products’ visibility. Use the data from July to refine your targeting and bidding strategies, ensuring your campaigns are as effective as possible. Additionally, participating in “best deals,” coupons, and other promotional features year-round can attract more shoppers to your products. Make sure your discounts are competitive and appealing — at least 15% off — as this will help you stand out in a crowded marketplace.
   

• Monitor performance and be adaptable. It’s critical to monitor your performance and be prepared to adapt your strategies as needed to succeed on Amazon year-round and make the most of Amazon Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days. Keeping a close eye on your sales data and traffic will allow you to make adjustments on the fly, whether it’s tweaking your ad campaigns or running flash promotions based on current performance. After promotional events, conduct a thorough analysis of your results to inform your strategies for future ones, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, or the next Prime Day. 

Amazon Prime Day and Prime Big Deal Days offer Amazon sellers a valuable opportunity to boost sales. But the success doesn’t have to stop there. By analyzing past performance, optimizing product listings, leveraging advertising, providing a seamless customer experience, and adapting in real time, Amazon sellers can succeed year-round.