Every seller, online and offline faces a crucial period in the fourth quarter of the year. Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas all fall under the ‘holiday season’ which runs from October 1st to December 31st each year, making Q4 a crucial time for eCommerce.
For sellers, the last quarter of the year is one of the busiest times of the year since almost everyone is spending money on themselves and others and it is imperative for sellers to prepare ahead.
Over the course of last year, Amazon generated more than $80 billion in online sales in Q4. Customers and sellers alike may see Amazon's quarterly profit reports, which are open to the public. As a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, the fourth quarter of 2021 will be the greatest yet in terms of e-commerce sales.
If you plan ahead, Amazon sellers across the globe stand to earn a lot of money to close out the year on a high note.
Tips for success
1. Optimize your listing
In the last quarter of the year, every seller brings out the big guns, so if you don't stand out you'll fade into the background. It's a good idea to optimize all of your Amazon product listings in advance of the busiest time of year for sales.
An optimized Amazon listing can help you get more traffic and sales from the site. Do extensive keywords research to ensure that your listings are targeting the proper keywords with the right search intent behind them.
You should also make sure your product photographs are high-quality and include important keywords in their names and descriptions. Your product photos should leave nothing to the imagination and it should demonstrate to prospective buyers how and what your product can do for them.
2. Plan ahead
The proverb "fail to prepare, prepare to fail" is applicable to Amazon selling, so be prepared. If you want to reap the benefits of the busiest time of year in e-commerce, you need to plan ahead.
Planning for Q4's crucial dates will ensure that you have enough stock, appropriate promotions, and a strategy for fulfilling orders.
Despite the fact that not every holiday day will be relevant to your brand's catalog, it is crucial to keep track of the dates that will help your marketing strategies. Your promotions will be more proactive rather than reactive this way. Start promoting your seasonal or discounted products as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the last minute.
Advertising and marketing campaigns should be prepared far in advance so that customers have enough time to notice you, consider their purchase, and make a final purchasing choice.
3. Don’t ignore any date
More and more people are opting out of Black Friday in the US because of the increasingly competitive nature of the event. In order to cash in on the heightened demand for Black Friday, you may want to offer discounts or bundles, but if you wind up with limited stock and no budget for the rest of the quarter, you will be restricting yourself in the long run.
As a result, Amazon sellers need to have a well-stocked and lucrative inventory to offer over the whole Christmas season, not just for a single week.
4. Competitive pricing
When it comes to competing in the Amazon search results, price is an important consideration. Because Amazon seeks to give the best pricing to its consumers, offering continuously competitive prices is a key strategy for ranking and achieving the Buy Box.
5. Fast shipping
Fast shipping is another method of differentiating your products from those of your competitors and makes your listings more attractive. Consumers are growing more and more impatient as e-commerce takes over as the preferred method of shopping. In certain situations, they want their purchases delivered the very next day.
Offering fast and dependable shipping is more critical than ever during the week leading up to Christmas when many customers are in a shopping frenzy.
If you can, provide free delivery during the peak season of Q4 in order to stand out from the competition. Because of the importance of free delivery, it is more vital than ever for sellers to prioritize their order fulfillment processes.
6. Take advantage of Amazon advertising
Q4 is every seller's busiest season, so now is the best time to take advantage of everything that paid advertising can do for you when comes to increasing your brand and product exposure in Amazon search results. Get your products in front of potential customers before your competitors do by launching marketing campaigns prior to your critical dates.
Your ad campaigns should be split tested in the lead up to Q4 in order to identify the most effective product pictures, product names, and keywords.
The Amazon Advertising interface provides real-time data that may be used to educate future campaigns and guarantee that your ad money is being spent wisely.
Ad campaigns involve a lot of attention and study, but if you've nailed your plan, you'll see obvious results in the number of people who buy from you. Consider working with Top Amazon Marketing Agencies to get maximum results.
7. Be innovative
Your product listings should be optimized to rank, so if you're satisfied, you may begin thinking creatively. Having a successful Q4 in 2021 is all about avoiding being too comfy with your product catalog.
Research your competitors and the market on a daily basis so that you can identify unique products and discover new product lines that may produce money. If you get there first, you'll be able to take advantage of the latest trends and shifts in demand.
Even while Q4 isn't the time to completely rethink your selling approach it's a great time to experiment with new products in order to take advantage of an increase in traffic on Amazon.
As new trends and products emerge, you may utilize Amazon's updated bestsellers list to keep track of them before they become oversaturated.