With upcoming deadlines for Prime Day 2019 fast approaching, it is important to make you are prepared to make the most of the day. The first deadline is in 15 short days (6/14), so read carefully!
The Basics of Prime Day
How Big is Prime Day?
Amazon started Prime Day in 2015 as a way to celebrate their 20th anniversary. In 2018, Prime Day sales reached an estimated 34 million items and $4.2 Billion according to Bloomberg. This was bigger than the previous Black Friday.
When is Prime Day and How Long Will It Last?
As is typical for Amazon they haven’t yet set the date for Prime Day but it will certainly be around mid-July – last year the day fell on July 16 and it lasted 36 hours When Amazon planned the first Prime Day they had it fall in the middle of summer which is otherwise a low point for most of online and offline retail.
Prime Day Promotions
Promoting your brand and products before, during, and after Prime Day can reap benefits that last well after the day has past. We’ve seen many sellers who reach a new baseline for daily sales after Prime day and other shopping holidays. We’ve outlined a few simple promotional strategies for Prime Day 2019.
Coupons
The deadline for ‘Best Deals’ and ‘Lighting Deals’ has passed but there is still time to submit a coupon for Prime day and to make sure your advertising is in good shape.
Why a Coupon?
- Brand and Product Visibility to Create a Sales Halo (ie. a multiplier on direct coupon sales)
- They will drive sales across products
- They’ll introduce your brand and products to new customers who will hopefully continue to order
- Coupons are shown in Search results
How Do Coupons Work?
Coupons are displayed with “Save X%” in search results and on product pages. A buyer needs to ‘clip’ the coupon to use it during the checkout process.
Requirements?
- Submit by 6/14
- You can submit up to 50 parent SKUs
- You must set your coupon to run for the month of July to be sure you are running during Prime Day – driven by date and your budget
- Must give a 20% discount
- Cost is .60 per redeemed coupon
- Budget – this is calculated by the discount x $.60 per redeemed coupon. Set your budget to last during the period.
Advertising
With so many shoppers on Amazon leading up to, on, and after Prime day it is important to make sure your Amazon Advertising, especially Sponsored Product ads are all set. This means:
- Budget: Make sure you increase your budget to a reasonable level so you don’t run out of spend before, during and after Prime day – there is a spill-over effect leading up to and after Prime day with sales increasing before and after with a massive spike during the 1 ½ of prime day.
- Check that you are advertising Products: With increased competition generally and especially during Prime you want to make sure
- Campaign Structure and ACoS targets
Inventory
The deadline for delivering inventory to Amazon in time for prime day is June 27 – that is just 15 days away!