After months of speculation, Amazon has finally announced this year’s Amazon Prime Day and it’s so chock-full of deals that it’s really Amazon Prime Day and a Half. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about making 16 June 2018 your best sales day yet.
Amazon Prime Day 2018
Prime Day 2018 takes place from noon on Monday 16th June to midnight Tuesday 17 June 2018. An eagerly awaited sale, Prime Day was born in 2015 to celebrate Amazon’s 20th birthday and features exclusive and extensive deals for Amazon Prime members. It has been described as rivalling Black Friday and with more than 100 million paid global Prime members, this is a sale you want to be a part of.
Amazon Prime Day 2017
A quick rewind to Prime Day 2017, which was the “biggest global shopping event in Amazon history“. It grew more than 60% than the previous year and saw tens of millions making purchases. We have high expectations for 2018.
Amazon Prime Deals
Amazon has promised more than one million deals worldwide, with 50% more Spotlight Deals globally. The largest deals will be on Alexa-enabled products – even more reason for you to voice-search optimise your eCommerce store.
Food Glorious Food
New for Prime 2018 is the involvement of Whole Foods. Whole Foods will join in the celebrations by offering exclusive Prime Day deals across its US stores. Yum.
Count Down
Not content with a day and a half full of savings, Amazon will be releasing exclusive daily offers in the lead up to the main event.
How to Make the Most of Amazon Prime Day – Sellers
Get on Amazon
If Amazon is not part of your multichannel selling portfolio, this is the perfect excuse. Find out how to easily sell on Amazon, alongside eBay, Etsy, Wish.com and your own website, here.
Get on Amazon Prime
To be involved in Amazon Prime Day, you need to be an Amazon Prime seller. This can be achieved through fulfilment by Amazon and fulfilment by seller. Although the deadline for being Prime Day 2018 eligible has now passed, registering now (for next year) is worthwhile. Find out how here.
Get on eBay, Wish.com and Etsy
Amazon Prime day has a halo effect. Last year, eBay had its two best July sales days, ever. Buyers are out to buy, competitors are out advertising and you should be reaping the rewards. Find out how to add eBay, Wish.com and Etsy to your multichannel sales portfolio here.
Lightning Deals
Lightning Deals is what Amazon Prime Day is all about. A limited window of time, to snap up a limited number of products, at a limited price. Lightning Deals are promoted by Amazon, throughout Amazon, until they’re gone. Sellers will have already been contacted by Amazon about their Lightning Deal eligible products. To find out if you were approved, visit your seller account. If you have not been contacted, there is still plenty of opportunity to benefit from Prime Day.
Discounts
Amazon is going to see a surge of shoppers, ready to buy on Prime Day. Take advantage of this by offering your own deals, discounts and bundles.
Marketing
Amazon has launched a global marketing campaign covering TV, radio and the internet. Jump on it. There will be a lot of hype, excitement and, most importantly, traffic. Contact your customers through email and social media to tell them you’re taking part, big deals are coming and here are some links they might want to bookmark.
Amazon advertising
Now is the time to explore Amazon’s pay per click advertising. Sponsored Product listings will see a lot of traffic and conversions over Prime Day. Optimise your keywords, up your budget and closely monitor. As Amazon says: “Sponsored Products can be a key differentiator for your Prime Day strategy and a valuable investment in your success.”
Amazon Key Word Optimisation
Ensure that your product listing keywords are properly optimised, including any Amazon hidden keywords. Read more about this, here.
Multichannel Management Software
Stock, stock, stock
Stock is important over Prime Day. You don’t want to sell out and you certainly don’t want to oversell. If you’ve taken part in Prime Day before, check your reports to see what sold well and plan accordingly. Accurate and real-time inventory management is key to avoiding overselling on the day. If you’re selling on multiple sales channel(s), multichannel management software (such as Expandly) automatically collates and syncs your inventory over all channels.
Process orders quickly
Now is your time to shine for new customers by quickly processing orders. Multichannel management software enables you to process orders centrally – saving time and protecting your seller reputation.
Ship orders quickly
The next step in impressing your Prime customers is to get their orders out, quick. Multichannel management software, such as Expandly, can generate pick lists and bulk-print shipping labels to speed things along.
Reporting
You’ll want to know what sold well and what didn’t. Multichannel management software generates reports telling you exactly that.
Why Sellers Should Take Part in Prime Day
If you’ve not taken part in Amazon Prime Day before, you might be wondering what all the hype is about – here’s what.
Clear stock
Amazon Prime Day is a great way to clear slow-moving and end-of-season stock.
Increase sales and brand awareness
The stats show that Prime Day produces more sales and with sales, comes brand awareness.
Grow customer reviews
You’ll see new customers come your way, which is a perfect opportunity to shine and grow your glowing reviews.
Increase your search ranking
The more people that buy from you on Amazon, the more favourably Amazon looks upon you. This is especially important for the Buy Box and Amazon’s Choice.
Launch new products
With the already built hype around the day, product launches are perfect.
Enjoy
We hope that Prime Day 2018 if your best yet. Share your success with us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Expandly
Expandly is multichannel management software that allows you to manage your eBay, Amazon, Wish and Etsy accounts alongside your shopping cart, shipping carrier and accountancy software – all from one central location.