07/08/2021
𝗪𝗛𝗬 𝗤𝟰 𝗜𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗢𝗦𝗧 𝗖𝗥𝗨𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗙 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗬𝗘𝗔𝗥 𝗕𝗘𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗔 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗗 𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗬 𝗔𝗠𝗔𝗭𝗢𝗡 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥?
It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Almost 50% of online holiday shoppers bought from Amazon in 2020, and we’re expecting to see that number increase in 2021. So, to help sellers ensure they have a lucrative Q4 this year, we’re going to walk through how to best prepare for Amazon Q4 traffic, what dates you need to remember, and how to get in front of as many buyers as possible to drive your sales through the roof.
Are you ready?
Let’s dive in.
𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗦𝗘 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦
One of the most common mistakes sellers make during Q4 is missing or forgetting important dates. Amazon events tend to happen on similar dates, so you can safely assume that the timeframe for these events will be nearly the same in 2021 as in 2020 Also, be aware that Amazon just enacted a new shipping policy in late August that will cause shipments with irregularities in quantity or delivery address to be delayed. Keep that in mind as we go over important dates during Q4.
𝗥𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗘𝗗 𝗙𝗨𝗟𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗟𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧 𝗙𝗘𝗘 – 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥
Last year, reduced fulfillment fees started on October 1 and continued through November and December. If FBA sellers reduce their storage space during these months, they could drastically reduce their total amount of FBA fees.
𝗜𝗡𝗖𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗦𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗔𝗚𝗘 𝗙𝗘𝗘 – 𝗥𝗨𝗡𝗦 𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗛𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥
During this timeframe, Amazon increases storage fees by 200-300% for standard and oversized items. This can really affect your profit margin, even with holiday sales, so make sure that you have room in your budget for higher fees.
𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗡𝗘𝗪 𝗙𝗕𝗔 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗥 𝗔𝗖𝗖𝗢𝗨𝗡𝗧𝗦 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗦𝗛𝗜𝗣𝗠𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗦 – 𝗔𝗙𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗜𝗗-𝗢𝗖𝗧𝗢𝗕𝗘𝗥 (𝗣𝗢𝗦𝗦𝗜𝗕𝗟𝗬)
Since 2017, new sellers weren’t allowed to sign up for FBA or send FBA shipments in after mid-October. This has been account based rather than ASIN based, so in the past sellers have sold retail arbitrage using FBA to get around the cutoff. But as long as you create a shipping order before the cutoff, you should be okay.
𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗕𝗟𝗔𝗖𝗞 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗗𝗔𝗬 / 𝗖𝗬𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝗠𝗢𝗡𝗗𝗔𝗬 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 – 𝗡𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝟱
Amazon also instituted a deadline for sending inventory for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Black Friday (November 23) marks the official start of the holiday shopping season, and Cyber Monday (November 26) is a huge day for online retailers, especially Amazon sellers. Make sure you have enough inventory in your Amazon warehouse to cover your Black Friday and Cyber Monday orders by November 5, or mid- to late October, just to be safe.
𝗖𝗨𝗧𝗢𝗙𝗙 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗗𝗘𝗟𝗜𝗩𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗗 𝗕𝗬 𝗖𝗛𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗠𝗔𝗦 – 𝗗𝗘𝗖𝗘𝗠𝗕𝗘𝗥 𝟭 (𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗕𝗔𝗕𝗟𝗬)
The craziness doesn’t stop after Cyber Monday! All of your inventory that you plan to deliver by December 25 must be in the warehouse by early December.
Don’t forget these dates. FBA sellers have to be on top of their game from now until Christmas in order to capitalize off of massive Q4 revenue opportunities.
𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵
Your next challenge is to determine the best timeline for getting your inventory into the warehouse and for starting a launch so you can get onto Page 1 at just the right time.
First, look at market data from previous years to determine when sales have historically started to increase (not sure where to find data for your product? Viral Launch's Market Research Chrome extension can help with that). You can expect that sales will follow the same pattern for 2021. Make sure your inventory is in stock before the sales spike.
𝗛𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗖𝗔𝗟 𝗤𝟰 𝗗𝗔𝗧𝗔
Looking at past data for travel sets, you can clearly see when sales begin to spike during Q4. If you are selling travel sets, you can use this data to estimate when you need to get inventory in, and to determine the best time to start a launch.
Then plan to start a product launch at least a week before the sales spike. A launch typically takes 7-10 days and will help increase sales and drive ranking so you can ride the wave of Q4 sales all the way through the holidays.
Timing is crucial. If you launch too early, you’ll have to maintain your ranking all throughout the holiday season. Launch too late, you’ll have to give away too much inventory and run out before the sales wave ends – or even worse, you’ll miss the wave completely. If you are unsure about when exactly you need to start your launch, our Team can help you research past trends to determine the best launch strategy for your product market.
𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴
Before you launch your product, you need to make sure that your listing copy and photography are both fully optimized and follow Amazon style guidelines. A well-written listing and high-quality photo set work together with product launches to increase organic sales and drive ranking for a successful final quarter.
Make sure that you’re using high volume and high opportunity keywords in your product listing. You have to plug in the best Amazon keywords in the best order in a way that reads well and follows Amazon style guidelines. Piece of cake, right?
Ranking is largely determined by your title, followed by your bullet points and backend search term keywords. Our Keyword Research and Listing Builder tools allow you to discover which keywords have the highest search volume in your market, which high opportunity keywords you might be missing out on, and how many potential searches your current listing could rank for.
Your listing also needs to be written well enough that buyers are convinced your product is worth buying, but without using restricted phrases or claims that could get you flagged by Amazon. If you don’t have the time or skillset to create an optimized listing, our team of copywriting professionals can do it for you.
𝗣𝗛𝗢𝗧𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗣𝗛𝗬
Product photography is crucial for converting clicks into purchases. Because they can’t see the product for themselves before buying, online shoppers heavily rely on photos for information. To convince shoppers to add your product to their cart, your photos need to look professional, display important details of your product, follow Amazon guidelines (or risk being flagged), and establish an emotional connection with buyers.
If you’re a new seller or have little to no photography experience, hiring a professional photographer might be the best choice for you. Your photo set has to convince buyers that your product is better than your competitor’s product, but it’s only one of the many moving parts of a successful Q4 strategy.
𝗖𝗿𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝗺𝗮𝘇𝗼𝗻 𝗤𝟰 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆
A successful Amazon Q4 strategy depends on planning, preparedness, and deliberate action. Now is the time to do your research and start prepping your listing and inventory for the busy holiday season. For more tips and tricks, be sure to check out our recent video on Q4 sales strategy.
At 𝙀𝙓𝙏𝙍𝙀𝙈𝙀 𝙇𝘼𝙐𝙉𝘾𝙃𝙀𝙎 we want to provide you with all the information you need to become successful on Amazon. For more Amazon selling strategies during every quarter, we encourage you to like & follow our page and to our webiste blog page, Link in first comment
And best of luck!
