Amazon Prime Day: How to Drive Traffic and Maximize Profit

Amazon Prime Day is coming soon. 

It’s that time of the year where Amazon FBA business owners like you can create more profit for your store. 

And with the changes in customers’ buying habits, there’s no better time to sell on Amazon. 

Whether you’re new at Amazon or a seasoned seller, it can still get overwhelming. 

So today, we’re sharing practical tips on how you can drive organic traffic and maximize your costs on Amazon Prime Day. 

Amazon Prime Day: History in a Glimpse 

Amazon Prime Day was introduced last 2015 in celebration of Amazon’s 20th anniversary. 

It was also created to drive more people to enjoy the benefits of having an Amazon Prime subscription. 

The first one was a one-day-only retail holiday for Prime members that sought to overtake Black Friday. 

The event saw prices drop to all-time lows that beat our prices from Black Friday and Cyber Monday offers. And it covered every product category on Amazon, from tech, beauty, home improvement, fashion, and smart home. 

The first Prime Day happened last July 15, 2020. It included 24-hour deals for shoppers in the US, UK, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada, and Austria. 

And truly enough, Prime Day in Amazon became the biggest sales day in Amazon’s history, with a total of 34.4 million items sold in just a day. That’s 398 items ordered per second[^1]! 

Instant Pot[²] became the most ordered item during the first year of Prime Day. This 7-in-1 pressure cooker sold 24,000 units. 

It also helped this brand go from obscurity to having a cult following. A year after, Instant Pot sold 215,000 units. 

Top sellers around the globe also include Huggies Diapers, Green Smoothie mix, Monopoly, and Croc sandals. 

Amazon started with an estimated 40 million US Prime subscription service. Today, it has more than 100 million Prime subscribers. 

This year, analysts project Amazon can generate up to $8 billion in global sales[³]. 

Takeaways

• Amazon Prime Day was first launched in July 2015 as part of Amazon’s anniversary celebration
• It has since generated record-breaking sales, especially for brands like Instant Pot
• Experts predict that this year’s Prime Day can reach up to $8 Billion in global sales

What to expect on Amazon Prime Day 

Amazon Prime Day 2019 was a record-breaking event, with Amazon producing its all-time high in total gross sales. 

Prime Day sales in 2019 produced roughly 175 Million, with a 70% increase compared to Prime Day 2018[⁴].

In the past years, the most popular categories were electronics, clothing, shoes, accessories, and home and kitchen. 

However, COVID-19 changed the dynamics and customer behaviors. This also affected the entire marketing ecosystem, shifting attention to e-commerce and online shopping. 

This also affected the scheduled Prime Day for 2020 and even the supply and demand for products. 

Our original prediction was that Prime Day 2020 will happen either late July or September at the latest. 

Recently, it was announced to take place on October 13-14, 2020. 

So how will things change this time around in Amazon Prime Day? 

One thing we know is that 2020 has given most sellers a spike in sales. 

There’s also the issue of backlogs, inventory challenges, shipping, and delivery delays. 

Disruptions in supply chains have affected businesses all over the world, and Amazon is also affected by this. 

Amazon has been doing its best to meet the rising demands on the platform. They’ve hired more people, updated operations and enhanced processes, and even offered better health benefits to its employees. 

Despite that, there’s been the challenge of stabilizing the market place and preparing for unforeseen disruptions to the supply chain. 

And Prime Day 2020 will also see shifts especially in buying behaviors and categories customers focus on. 

Takeaways

• 2019 saw good results for Amazon Prime Day
• COVID-19 has a huge impact on customer buying behavior
• It may also impact selling factors such as delivery dates and inventories

The Difference with Prime Day 2020

What makes Amazon Prime Day 2020 different from Amazon Prime Day in the previous years?

Amazon Prime Day usually happens in July. But due to the pandemic and other factors, Prime Day has been delayed to October this year. 

Quarantines and the ongoing pandemic also paused non-essential products to handle the influx of orders. 

Because of this, there might be less available stocks and potentially delayed shipping. 

There will also be a huge demand during Amazon Prime day due to the pandemic. 

Research from IBM’s US Retail Index[⁵] shows an acceleration in the shift away from physical stores to digital shopping. 

As a result, there has been a steep decline in foot traffic in department stores and brick and mortar shops. 

In the first quarter alone, there has been a 25% decline in non-essential retailers. This tripled to 75% in the second quarter. 

There’s also a shift in consumer behaviors that have proven to be profitable for Amazon business owners, e-commerce, and online sales. 

For one, people focus more on availability and convenience when making purchases. People also focus more on the essential products during the pandemic. 

And more people are saying they are willing to purchase different brands as an alternative in case their preferred brands are not available. 

These figures can change, especially with the upcoming Christmas season. 

But one thing is for certain. Today is the best time to sell on Amazon, especially with Amazon Prime Day coming. 

The key is to make sure you’re prepared to take the influx and have enough stocks available to take on the demand. 

Takeaways

• Consumers are now prioritizing availability and quantity over brand recognition
• More people are open to trying new brands if preferred brands are not available
• This is the best time for Amazon sellers to introduce their products to more people through Amazon Prime Day

How to Prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2020

Now that we know when Amazon Prime Day is happening, it’s time to prepare your Amazon business for its prime. 

The first thing you need to do is to make sure you optimize your listings before you direct more traffic to your Amazon store. 

So here are some of our best tips to make the most sales during Amazon’s Prime Day. 

Add keywords in the backend of your listing

You want to make sure your listings look as good as possible for your customers to buy.

You can add the keywords “prime day” or “prime week” in the subject matter and other attributes in the backend. 

It’s a good thing to add it now because people will type it in later. Keywords like “prime week deal”, “prime day deals”, and “prime day specials”.

We’ve experimented with this in the past, and this has led to the product appearing on the front page. 

Doing this helps your store be more visible during Prime Day. It also helps you generate more organic traffic without any added cost. 

Optimize your Amazon store for mobile devices 

Recent studies show more people are buying on mobile devices now compared to desktops 

So it’s best to make sure your listings are also readable on the mobile app. 

It also pays to test your product pricing and even raise your prices for maximized profitability. 

You need to make the best out of the influx in traffic that Prime Day would bring. 

This may earn you more traffic for the latter part of the year, especially during for Christmas season. 

Read more about mobile optimization here: https://goteamreal.com/how-to-make-money-with-amazon

Create a PPC strategy for the week 

It pays to have a good PPC strategy and optimized listing to drive traffic towards your store. 

One thing you need to do is to check your store’s high performing keywords and search term reports. 

Check the data on the previous year’s Prime Day, and work out which bids you should raise to make the most traffic out of Amazon Prime Day 2020.

You can also look around the pattern during Christmas time. 

Remember, Prime Day is also about creating a rush. This will help you decide how you can capitalize on this PPC strategy. 

Don’t raise your bids too early. It’s best to do it a day or two before Prime day to avoid higher PPC costs. 

Stock up and order in advance 

It helps to have the right amount of stocks and create varied deal strategies. 

Run seven-day deals or flash deals to hype up your audience. 

Just make sure that there are no changes in the deals you set up while Prime Day is running. 

Dud products and out of season products don’t do well, so try not to sell them. 

Prime Day also runs a huge lot of traffic and you might run out quickly even when the deal stops. 

One thing to do if you’re thinking about selling at a promotional price, you can lower the volume down instead. 

Get the spur for the deal’s first couple of hours, and then let it ride for the rest of the period. 

The key is to plan well in advance. Set the stock amount you think you can sell, and then add a 30-50% buffer on top of that. 

Conclusion

Amazon Prime Day is a great way to drive traffic towards your store. It can also help you create profit from your Amazon business. 

The key is to make sure you start to plan out your inventory as soon as possible.

It also helps to optimize your listing for the right keywords and mobile apps. You also need to make decisions based on your previous brand analytics. 

Get more tips on how to get your Amazon business ready for Amazon Prime Day. Listen to our podcast below.

Got any tips to share for a successful Amazon Prime Day? Share them with us in the comments.