How Brands Should Prepare for Q4 ‘Peak Season’ on Retail Marketplaces Like Amazon - Episode 307
DESCRIPTION
In this podcast episode, Kiri Masters shares lessons from past Q4's, as well as lessons learned from 2023's summertime Prime Day so that consumer brands can be best prepared for the peak selling season.
“Ultimately, in order to get ready for the Prime Big Deal Days, brands really needed to actually start their prep for that back in August.”
KEY TAKEAWAYS
If you're listening to this on September 12th, I have good news for you. You still have time to register for our webinar on September 13th, where I'll be discussing peak season prep in detail. In collaboration with ChannelEngine and Shipbob, we'll cover other related questions on operational readiness as well. So, make sure to register to secure your spot.
Discussed in this episode:
Prime Day learnings - any level of Prime Day activity, no matter the promotion, led to a higher uptick in sales than not doing any promotions at all.
Simplicity was in favor. Coupons were the top-used promotion among Acadia clients, Clients using coupons saw a 322% increase in daily sales compared to the daily average in the two-week lead-up to Prime Day. Clients offering anything between 5% and 75% off.
Prime-exclusive discounts (PEDs) were the second most popular promotion.
The flashier deals, like lightning deals and spotlight deals, are smart bets – for the brands that can afford them. These placements cost more and can be trickier to navigate
Have backups for deals that don’t run.
Advertising:
Top-of-funnel ads that build awareness and consideration need to run early
Switch to performance ads during the event to capture demand
Understand that ad performance will suffer leading up to the event. Some brands say they don’t want to participate in running ads or discounts - beware!
Ad spend rose 338% year on year, reflecting an annual trend in increased CPC of 30%. BUT conversion rose 23.6%, in step with spend.
At the same time, ROAS was up, avoiding erosion thanks to higher overall prices and better conversion rates that offset higher costs.
Consider that if your competitors are leaning into tentpole events with ads and promotions, but you are not, their BSR will improve and yours will fall behind. Are you willing to take a long-term hit for a short-term saving?
Register for the Webinar here.
Read our 2023 peak season prep guidelines (with a timeline!) here.
Read our Prime Day recaps on the Acadia blog.
Connect with Kiri Masters
Learn more about Acadia
