It’s not too farfetched to say that Amazon has become almost synonymous to online shopping. Today, users don’t “Google” products but look them up on Amazon first. And the numbers back it up. Despite the pandemic and its associated roadblocks, Amazon’s yearly revenue from September 2020 to September 2021 was $457.9 billion, recording a whopping 31.6% increase year over year (YoY).
As an online seller, it’s now obvious that Amazon isn’t just a ‘nice to have’ option, but a necessity today. And to succeed in this cut-throat marketplace, you’ll need to keep abreast with the trends and transformations in Amazon marketing.
Here are five trends that we consider pivotal.
Loosen your purse strings for advertising
Be it the pandemic or the increasing number of new sellers and products competing for the limited real estate of sponsored ads, one thing is certain – Amazon advertising costs will continue to rise throughout 2022. In fact, the average cost-per-click (CPC) increased over 50% in 2020-2021 alone. So while you’re bolstering your advertising spends, it is also important to pay attention to your Amazon advertising strategy.
So what can you do to make your brand rise above the noise and clutter? Become the most clickable option.
Optimize listings, enroll in the Brand Registry, update product images, create quality content descriptions, and experiment with product videos to increase your chances of conversion. And if you can, get experts in the field of Amazon marketing to push your brand to the next level and invest in experienced digital marketers and creative professionals to guide you.
Build your brand, tell a story
With Amazon advertising becoming more expensive and a record number of sellers competing in every category, you have to get creative. The good news is that Amazon is helping brands engage with their customers by giving them more creative control with various new interactive features such as Amazon Posts, Amazon Follow, and Manage My Customer Engagement (MMCE), etc.
Through these features, Amazon will become a one-stop shop not just for product sales and promotions, but also a platform for converting customers and allowing them to interact with their favorite brands all without leaving the app or website. The objective here is to create an immersive ecosystem in a level-playing field, where small and large brands alike can get in on the Amazon promotion game. So make sure to dig deep into each of these features and strategize on how best you can leverage these to up your brand game.
Take advantage of data and insights
In late 2021, Amazon announced that it will provide more data and detailed insights to third-party sellers through its new feature – Product Opportunity Explorer. This will allow sellers to know their customers’ search history, purchase history, pricing trends, sales history, etc. The Product Opportunity Explorer will help you identity product niches and figure out what your target demographic is and isn’t buying, likely playing a key role in your Amazon advertising strategy. Currently, Amazon is testing this new feature in a beta program and plans to extend it to sellers in the coming months throughout 2022.
Get used to supply chain challenges
Supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic will likely continue in 2022 as well. Amazon has also constrained its fulfillment capabilities because of the sheer influx of new products and will use the inventory performance index (IPI) to prioritize sellers and decide who should get the most space. To score high in this regard, ensure that you plan your inventory in advance and have backup fulfillment methods. Maintaining your stock just might help you edge out the competition.
What’s more, you can also focus on optimizing cost vs price. Find ways to reduce costs without affecting quality, be it eliminating extra packaging or swapping an international supplier for a local one. An all-important measure you should consider is to closely follow your competition and increase your price when their stock runs out. You can also do the same when you’re low on stock.
Make brand authenticity your mantra
Amazon is taking new steps to weed out less than ideal sellers and prevent cheating. In addition to the new brand centric features mentioned above, the platform is also introducing manual review assessments to keep a closer eye on what’s good and what’s not. So treat your virtual storefront much like your website or physical stores. Establish customer trust by using relevant metrics, attributions, and modules. Watch out for duplicates and set up alerts on your competitors. And most important, bring your non Amazon products onto the platform as soon as possible to get that first mover advantage.
Amazon has revolutionized the world of online marketplaces and will continue to do so in the years to come. What defines your success in this endeavor is how adaptable you are. Excited to explore your future in the online marketplace? Leverage our Amazon marketing services and get ahead of the game.
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