This episode offers Amazon sellers critical strategies for Q4, challenging common assumptions about holiday sales. It reveals how Black Friday/Cyber Monday effectiveness is niche-dependent and advocates for price *increases* over decreases during peak holiday shopping to boost net profit and reduce operational strain. Essential listening for optimizing Amazon profitability and navigating platform changes in the busiest selling season.
Key takeaways
Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal effectiveness is highly dependent on product niche; giftable items see significant boosts, while seasonal non-holiday specific products may not.
Consider subtly *increasing* prices during the holiday season instead of lowering them to fight competition. This can lead to higher net profit per unit, fewer orders to fulfill, and reduced customer service load.
Review throttling on Amazon is a concern, impacting product visibility and social proof. Sellers should monitor review acquisition carefully.
Stay updated on Amazon PPC changes to adapt advertising strategies effectively and maximize ROI during the competitive Q4 period.
Leverage buyer psychology during the frantic holiday season; consumers are often less price-sensitive and more focused on securing gifts, making higher prices more acceptable.
Q4 is already in full swing with Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but before it could swallow us alive, Dave and I decided to sit down and talk about new things happening up on Amazon land. In this episode we discuss things we discovered with Amazon recently, from good updates like new PPC changes to the frustrating alleged review throttling. We also talk about other things in between. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals: are they effective? The short answer? It depends. Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals are profitable depending on the niche. For example, Dave sells offroading products which are seasonal and not really hot items during the holiday season. He does experience a bump up in sales during Black Friday, but it's not substantial. On the other hand, my products (coloring books, gel pens, markers) are very giftable. In fact, a huge chunk of ColorIt's yearly revenue is generated in Q4 during which we run lots of deals, Cyber Week included. Should you lower prices to fight competition during the holidays? Our answer? Don't. In fact, we raise our prices a little bit. A common thinking among sellers this time of the year is that they need to lower prices to get more holiday sales and therefore, more profit. While that's not wrong, there's a better way to do it. Increasing your prices will reduce sales, BUT will increase profit per widget. So you can potentially get the same amount of profit but fulfill less items, answer less customer emails and in general, have less headaches. We found this out last year when we increased prices for some ColorIt products because we were in danger of selling out before the holidays were over. To our surprise, our net profit dramatically increased. Some buyer psychology plays out here. People are frantically looking for gifts around the holidays and are probably more inclined to finish buying gifts th
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Black Friday and Cyber Monday deal effectiveness is highly dependent on product niche; giftable items see significant boosts, while seasonal non-holiday specific products may not.
What does this episode say about paid acquisition?
Consider subtly *increasing* prices during the holiday season instead of lowering them to fight competition. This can lead to higher net profit per unit, fewer orders to fulfill, and reduced customer service load.
What does this episode say about finance & fundraising?
Review throttling on Amazon is a concern, impacting product visibility and social proof. Sellers should monitor review acquisition carefully.
What does this episode say about supply chain & operations?
Stay updated on Amazon PPC changes to adapt advertising strategies effectively and maximize ROI during the competitive Q4 period.
What does this episode say about amazon & marketplaces?
Leverage buyer psychology during the frantic holiday season; consumers are often less price-sensitive and more focused on securing gifts, making higher prices more acceptable.
