Amazon Prime Day 2022 faces fresh challenges
Following on from the pandemic years that saw a dramatic increase in the amount of activity in the eCommerce arena, this year’s Prime Day faces stiff challenges from increased competition and rises in the cost of living affecting how much consumers have to spend.
Retailers are hoping that consumer demand can be revitalised and shoppers tempted by the usual range of discounted goods. It will be interesting to see whether the same mix of electronics and luxury items will top the list of bought goods, or whether the discerning bargain hunters will seek out essentials only. Once again, Amazon will be hoping that they can increase the number of Prime subscribers.
There is another challenge for brands in the form of rising costs, especially in advertising and the supply chain. How long or how much can be absorbed before the price increases are passed on to the consumer in whole or in part?
For any brand that is tempted to slash its advertising budget, that would be a very risky strategy. Indeed, the very opposite should happen, and investments in Sponsored Display should be at the heart of any marketing strategy. It is clearly vital that not just your product but also your brand stands out from the online noise. Using Amazon’s advertising campaigns is one way to maximise the potential offered by the increased traffic that Prime Day generates. It doesn’t matter how good your content is if your product or brand is lost amongst what can be a daunting amount of information and deals. Likewise, if you are being noticed because of a strong advertising campaign but your content has gaps or is weak, then the advertising budget might be wasted.
All the elements must be right. Great content, well advertised, and linked to dedicated promotions, will generate sales from the increased traffic, promote product and brand awareness, and attract new customers. This is one of the strengths of eBusiness Institute; helping brands to create effective content that converts.
In the current economic climate of rising inflation and cost of living, any brand that is seen to offer significant discounts, especially on everyday items as well as luxury goods, should see volume growth across the term. Brands should check out the promotions on offer and decide which one is right for them. For example, there are many featured goods offering additional discounts, and this is definitely an area that will appeal to consumers. Purchasers of these featured items collect a voucher for the stated extra discount, and that is applied automatically at checkout. Easy peasy!
Anything new?
The format of Prime Day 2022 will be very similar to previous years, with both spotlight and lightning deals. Once again, Amazon is helping small business retailers with a special promotion. In the UK and USA, for every £1/$1 spent, shoppers are entered into a sweepstake where Amazon gift cards and big prizes can be won.
Members using the Amazon Smile app can select a charity from a number of local, national and international good causes. When a purchase is made, Amazon will make a donation of 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products, at no extra cost to the consumer.
Alexa-enabled devices will alert customers to upcoming Prime Day lightning deals, sometimes hours in advance of non-Alexa shoppers. This is a useful feature as lightning deals are limited and end when the stock runs out.
As ever, there is a 30-day, cancel anytime, free trial membership of Amazon Prime designed to encourage new subscribers.
Prime Day 2021
Last year we covered Prime Day in depth with an informative blog before the event, and a follow-up social media post that discussed the results after the event. The blog showed what brands need to do in order to win and maximise the sales opportunities offered by Prime Day. For anyone interested in understanding more about Prime Day generally and the differences between Amazon Prime Day 2021 versus the 2022 version, you can read last year’s article here.
In conclusion
Prime Day still offers brands (whether selling through Amazon or not) a focussed opportunity to reach large numbers of new customers. For brands not aligned with Amazon, there is still a great deal that can be done to attract the extra eCommerce traffic to your own websites and promotions, particularly if you start before, and end after, Prime Day.
This year more than ever, whether with Amazon or not, advertising hard will be absolutely key to success and should deliver against your featured products as well as the brand behind them. Your content must be right and brands should try to connect empathetically with consumers who are rightly concerned about struggling with rises in their cost of living amid a world embroiled in turmoil and uncertainty.
Will this year’s bargain hunters go for discounted everyday goods, or treat themselves to a luxury bargain to cheer themselves up as they did in the pandemic years?
eBusiness Institute, helping brands to excel at eCommerce
We create integrated solutions that connect customer experiences, helping brands to excel not only on Prime Day, but every day. Stay future-ready and find out more about how we can help you create content that converts. Contact us today to speak with one of our experts.
Sources
[1] https://www.amazon.co.uk/primeday?ie=UTF8&tag=googhydr-21&hvadid=605257723880 &hvpos=&hvexid=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16797838069590839418&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt =e&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_3imzpof30m_e
