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Top-12 Amazon Q4 Tips

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Victoria Melnychuk on Sep 23, 2021 in Tips

Top-12 Amazon Q4 Tips

 

Are you ready for the Amazon Q4 rush? Don’t miss out on the lucrative holiday season by waiting until the last minute. Take the time to do it now. Fortunately, we’ve got some great tips to help you get started!

 

Important Sales Dates During Amazon Q4

It’s not uncommon for the monstrous traffic spike and a sheer number of online shoppers on Black Friday and Cyber Monday to overload the internet and slow down or stall entirely. In 2019 Cyber Monday has made a record-setting $9.4 billion in sales, surpassing Black Friday and Amazon Prime Day combined. In 2020, US consumers spent more than $34 billion online during Cyber 5.

Since the start of the pandemic, Amazon profits have increased nearly 200%, according to ResearchFDI. Amazon Q4 earnings 2020 report shows that in Q4, the company delivered its largest quarter by revenue of all time at $125.56 billion (vs $119.7 billion as was estimated by S&P Global Market Intelligence). Besides, it remains the leader among top Cyber Monday retailers by market share. Take a look at the graph below:

Amazon Q4 earnings 2020

 

Aside from Black Friday and Cyber Monday, there are other important Amazon Q4 dates that can be a headache for sellers who weren’t preparing for them.

 

Halloween

Halloween is growing as an event as more and more people are spending their time dressing up, offering candy, and taking part in trick-or-treating. Well, let’s not forget about spending huge amounts of money on treats, decorations, and outfits. That is why Halloween is a perfect time for retailers to plan a marketing campaign and show off their Halloween-themed offers!

 

Thanksgiving Day

A lot of people will be busy baking and cooking on the day of Thanksgiving. A good many of them will rely on Amazon to purchase grocery items. Sellers have to think about their Thanksgiving decorations’ inventory to sell during and after the holiday season.

 

Christmas, Kwanzaa & Hanukkah

December is just crazy with all the holidays and gifts. When it comes to gift-giving, most people think of toys, but stores on Amazon must (and they usually do) contain a diverse range of gifts that shoppers can surf through. For instance, makeup and beauty-type items are widely popular during winter holidays, perhaps because they are a perfect gift.

 

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are among the highest traffic dates during Amazon Q4. So it is absolutely imperative that Amazon sellers do their best to take advantage of these hot days. To be fully armed and prepared, sellers need to finalize marketing campaigns, launch them early on, gather valuable insights from buyers, and understand the effect of Amazon campaigns on other channels.

 

Making the Most of Q4 on Amazon

To capitalize on the opportunities that Q4 provides, Amazon businesses must prepare for it throughout the entire year. We’ve created a list of essential things sellers need to do prior to Amazon Q4.

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Want to Know Even More About a Successful Amazon Q4 Strategy?

Q4 Guide is a step-by-step adviser for the most profitable season of the year, based on our work experience with 7-9 figure brands.

Start Planning Now

Preparations for the fourth quarter should take place all year round. Summer is an excellent time to reach out to suppliers and strengthen your relationships. There have been many disruptions in the supply chain over the past year due to Covid-19 and the difficulties it created. It’s good to have plan B: sellers who’re constantly sourcing for suppliers will never run out of inventory.

 

Make a Stress Test for Your Systems

Since Q4 is such a craze, it can be useful to check how all the systems work and whether they are prepared for overloads and high traffic. In case there are certain troubles, it is much better to fix them before and not during the shopping race.

 

Plan a Pricing Strategy for the Season

During Amazon Q4, competition for the Buy Box is fierce, and while the marketplace has never openly stated that price is the determining factor in whether you end up in the Buy Box or not, this is indeed the case. Pursuing aggressive pricing strategies will not truly allow you to maximize your profits. Combined with factors such as seller ratings, customer satisfaction, the number/frequency of sales, pricing plays a vital role in determining a recommended seller for a certain product.

 

Inventory

If there is one thing sellers agree on, it is that you should never run out of items on Amazon. This is especially important in Q4 when sales, interest, and competition are high. It is highly recommended to obtain the top software and automation tools to maintain control over inventory management. Still finding the balance can be tough, especially with so many unexpected disruptions within the supply chain.

 

Follow Trends and New Products

Keeping up with the latest trends can seem tiresome, tedious, and not worth the try. But to beat competitors and ensure high Amazon Q4 earnings, you have to offer buyers the newest and freshest market trends. Here are the leading product categories on Amazon:

Amazon 4th quarter earnings

source: Statista

 

Pay Attention to Amazon Storage Limits

Amazon sellers have experienced unacceptably high volatility since the last 6 to 12 months regarding storage limits. It has been nearly impossible to predict the future of storage limits, ASIN limits, or any other operational metrics for sellers on Amazon in recent months because of their fluctuating nature. Pay attention to company news and announcements, and you’ll be fine.

 

Keep Plenty of Stock for January

For many sellers, January can be about as hectic and lucrative as December, because buyers use Amazon gift cards to acquire what they really want for Christmas. The January sales are still an important part of the retail calendar, so make sure you have enough stock for the new year. Learn more about how to scale your Amazon inventory management.

 

Content

Content is king. Monitoring and optimizing ad strategy and keyword performance help brands stay on top of the game and maximize their Amazon Q4 earnings. Here are a few tips to upgrade ad campaigns:

Q4 Amazon

 

  • Constantly review and update your PPC campaign structure.
  • Use Sponsored Brand, Sponsored Brand Video, and Sponsored Display ads.  
  • Run external ads on Facebook and Google.
  • Run ads on social media.

 

Focus on Keyword Ranking

Before you can build your Amazon Q4 ad strategy, identify which keywords you need for the ad campaign to focus ad dollars on reaching the right audience. Sellers often face a problem when, even with optimized ads, the product is still not moving. Those sellers have failed to identify the highly relevant keywords that pull their customers to buy their products. Keyword phrases should be appropriate and have sufficient search volume to bring in potential buyers.

 

Audit Your Listings

When you have developed a plan and ensured that you have enough inventory (stock), you need to work on your listings. Ensure that you are targeting the correct set of keywords. It is also important to run A/B tests to figure out how to drive clicks and conversions from product photos and descriptions, which you should check out for any improvements.

 

Get Quality Reviews

Automate your review requests. Accumulating the highest product ratings and reviews is an essential component of your marketing strategy. Make it easier on yourself by automatically requesting reviews from your Amazon customers.

 

Follow Your Plan and Expect the Unexpected

Good planning means expecting the unexpected. 2020 proved that the world certainly wasn’t ready for a global pandemic. But there are other black swans out there. Being ready for the risks means first predicting them. And this is especially relevant for Amazon’s business.

 

Save Time for Yourself and Your Family

Being ready for Q4 on Amazon is critical, but there’s nothing more important than spending time with your family and friends, especially in the hard present that we live in. Some of the major companies, like Nike, stress the importance of taking “time to unwind, destress and spend time with your loved ones”.

 

Takeaway Message

All of the steps necessary to execute a successful Q4, including achieving inventory levels, creating and executing advertising campaigns, optimizing listings, and more should be completed well before it starts. Only careful and detailed preparation will bring the required results and help make the most out of the hot Amazon Q4 season. If you want to check whether your ad campaigns and content are ready for the Q4, feel free to contact us!

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