Analyzing business year-end results, drawing conclusions, and creating further plans is most effective when dividing the year into equally sized shorter intervals, as Amazon does – into quarters. Each quarter consists of three months: Q1 – January to March, Q2 – April to June, Q3 – July to September, and the most profitable – Q4 – October to December. We are soon approaching the last quarter of the year, where Amazon sellers can expect Prime Day, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and, of course, the holiday season. How to prepare for the most profitable Amazon trading period and secure a larger slice of the profit pie?
Prepare for longer product journeys and plan your inventory
Year after year, the entire e-commerce industry faces the same issue towards the end of the year – longer delivery times both to warehouses and to the end customers. Selling on Amazon is certainly no exception: here, over a very short period, millions of sellers increase their stock levels, and customer activity increases by as much as 30-50%*.
The delivery time is crucial to customers, especially during the holiday season, as many tend to leave gift shopping until the last minute, and delays in such cases are unacceptable. Even though Amazon FBA handles the delivery of sellers’ products, the responsibility ultimately falls on the seller, potentially resulting in negative feedback and returns. Therefore, if you don’t already have it, it’s essential to strive for Amazon Prime certification, which guarantees faster delivery to customers.
One important aspect of planning is inventory management in Amazon FBA fulfillment centers. Longer logistics and receiving times at Amazon fulfillment centers, along with higher storage fees, are common selling on Amazon during Q4 season. If you have been selling with the Amazon FBA model for more than a year, calculating the inventory to send to Amazon fulfillment centers may be easier. If you’re doing this for the first time, finding the right balance to avoid both increased storage costs and “Out of Stock” situations can be challenging. Carefully evaluate your past month’s performance and consider sending at least a third more inventory to Amazon fulfillment centers.
* https://www.sellerapp.com/blog/amazon-q4-holiday-selling-guidelines/
Optimize the content of listings and Amazon PPC campaigns
Q4 is not only the most profitable but also the most competitive period, as not only you but also all your competitors strive for higher sales. To outperform them and capture customer attention, quality content and effective Amazon PPC advertising can be helpful.
As you prepare for Q4, carefully review both your competitors’ and your own Amazon listings and optimize them: include the most effective keywords, including ones like “Christmas gifts for mom,” and so on. Adjust product titles and/or Bullet Points by adding points about the suitability of the product as a gift.
If you have enough time, financial resources, and human resources, organize a Christmas product photoshoot, update and tailor your Amazon A+ content for Christmas. However, of course, evaluate whether it’s worth doing, but if it is, such optimized content is more likely to attract customer attention.
You should start Amazon PPC campaigns as early as possible so that you have time to analyze the results and make necessary adjustments. Advertising costs also increase during Q4, so it’s important not only to find the most effective keywords but also to identify those that are wasting your money. Such keywords should be included in your negative keyword list.
We recommend running both automatic and manual Amazon PPC campaigns because automatic campaigns are particularly effective at discovering the strongest and highest-converting keywords. You can then use these keywords in your manual advertising campaigns.
Selling on Amazon is like tackling American mountains, and Q4 (the period from the beginning of October to the end of December) is the peak. Whether the descent will be smooth or challenging partly depends on how well you prepare for it. If you need assistance or advice in getting ready for the busiest trading season, feel free to reach out to us, DIGITAL FREAKS, and we will not only prepare Plan A but also have a Plan B in mind.