Since its debut in 2015 as a celebration of Amazon’s 20th birthday, the annual Prime Day event has grown year over year to become an undeniable force in the e-retail calendar. Market research firm Digital Commerce 360 estimates that Amazon sold $11.2 billion worth of goods on Prime Day 2021, up from $10.4 billion in 2020. During Prime Day 2021, Prime Members reportedly bought some 250 million items.
While Prime Day’s name is somewhat misleading, as the event typically lasts 48 hours, its reputation as a powerful sales driver is accurate, and prepared brands can expect to reap the benefits.
When Should Brands Prepare for Prime Day?
One key difference between Prime Day and Black Friday is that you never know exactly when Prime Day will land in the calendar. Amazon is famously tight-lipped leading up to the big event, but all signs suggest that Prime Day 2022 will fall in July, a return to the event’s usual month after Prime Days in 2020 and 2021 were shuffled to accommodate COVID-19-related delays.
Given that opacity, there is only one secret to mastering Prime Day timelines: prepare early.
“If you can, start thinking about Prime Day toward the end of Q1 to make sure that you’re ready for whatever deadlines Amazon may throw at you,” said Kenichi Sato, content26’s Manager of E-Commerce Marketing. Brands should select the products that will be on sale and plan a Prime Day advertising budget in plenty of time to obtain any necessary internal approvals.
“You want to make sure that you not only have the necessary inventory, but that that inventory gets to Amazon warehouses in time,” Sato said. “Think about the supply-chain issues of the last two years and the rising gas prices in recent months—there are a lot of X factors to consider these days, so the sooner you have a plan in place, the better.”
Brands that plan to bundle two or more products into a single ASIN should be sure to have those new product pages retail-ready at least a month before Prime Day, Sato added. “If you wait until the month of Prime Day, it may be difficult to ramp up and get the product to rank high organically. This may lead to paying higher CPCs and higher spend levels for fewer clicks.”
Why Should Brands Participate in Prime Day?
“There are two ways to look at Prime Day,” Sato said. “For larger brands, maybe you sign up with Amazon for Amazon Advertising packages, like the Deal of the Day or Lightning Deals. For smaller brands or brands who couldn’t meet the deadlines for deals but still want to participate, you can discount your prices for whatever product line you want and have your own sale and compete that way.”
Industry forecasts project that the number of Amazon Prime members in the United States will top 153 million in 2022. Not all those members will shop on Prime Day, necessarily, but with Prime Day’s big increases in traffic, you can reasonably expect to grow your top-line sales. But that increased traffic serves another critical function: brand building.
Prime Day can draw shoppers to Amazon that don’t shop there on a daily or weekly basis, or that may be brand new to Amazon Prime. This new audience may be looking for good deals rather than specific products, so they’re more willing to look around at new brands to peruse their options.
“Taking advantage of the increased Prime Day traffic to reach larger or new-to-brand audiences will likely drive sales overall, and will certainly help build the brand, or build the product line on the Amazon,” Sato said.
How Brands Can Maximize Prime Day 2022
To have a successful Prime Day, brands must think strategically about both advertising budget allocation and Amazon content optimization.
You’ll want to roll out any ad campaigns at least two weeks before Prime Day, with a minimum budget of $100. That head start will help you optimize your campaign’s performance and dial in your keyword strategy well ahead of the main event.
During the week of Prime Day, use a combination of Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and Product Display ads at the same time to help maximize your product visibility on Amazon.com. Only advertise products rated 3.5 stars or higher, along with any product that has a Prime Day deal.
Finally, be sure that any product you’re advertising for Prime Day has excellent, up-to-date content. Even the most effective ad spend won’t do you much good if your content isn’t up to snuff—lackluster or confusing product pages are less likely to convert.
To keep shoppers engaged, the essential content in your product pages must be both informative and compelling. Make sure that your product titles, bullets, and product descriptions are clear, concise, accurate, and descriptive, and infused with appropriate keywords that improve your Amazon Advertising campaigns.
Amazon reports that brands can expect up to a 10% increase in sales with basic A+ content, and what better time than Prime Day to take advantage of that boost? Standard A+ content is free for all vendors, so brands that are able should consider adding elements like enlargeable images and comparison charts to improve the digital shopping experience even further.
Brands that pay for Premium A+ modules will have the option of adding infographics, videos, interactive modules, and even more impressive imagery to their product pages. However you decide to participate, being prepared will help you have your best Prime Day ever.
