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on May 7, 2021 by Drew Kramer in Marketplaces

How to Prepare for Prime Day 2021

Image of laptop of with text that says 142 million American households referencing the number of people who shop on amazon on Prime DayAmazon Prime Day is fast approaching. Each year, the annual event generates billions of dollars in sales, attracting the 142 million American households that hold an Amazon Prime subscription. Prime Day leads to high revenue—but brands need the right strategy. To stay ahead of the competition, brands need to know how to prepare for Prime Day 2021.

Key Dates for Amazon Prime Day 2021

"$10.4 billion in sales" on Prime Day 2020 illustrationAmazon Prime Day is an annual event that offers special sales to Amazon Prime members. It often takes place over two days, usually in July. Prime Day 2020 happened in October, resulting in $10.4 billion in sales.

Amazon has not announced the date for Prime Day 2021, but reports suggest that the event will happen in mid-June. In fact, Amazon is already asking brands to submit key information in preparation for Prime Day.

Prime Day Timeline

  • March 29, 2021: the date Amazon will begin sourcing for Prime Day discounts, usually ending two weeks before Prime Day
  • April 16, 2021: the deadline for Amazon North America marketplaces to submit Lightning Deals, or promotions where brands offer a limited number of discounts during a short period
  • May 28, 2021: the deadline to submit coupons for Prime Day 2021
  • May 30, 2021: the deadline for Fulfillment by Amazon fulfillment centers to receive inventory for Amazon U.S. and Amazon Canada

How Amazon Prime Day Benefits Brands

Amazon Prime Day attracts millions of customers each year. During Prime Day 2019, these customers purchased over 175 million items over the two-day period. Prime Day 2020 generated $3.5 billion in sales for third-party sellers, marking the highest two sales days for small and medium brands on Amazon Marketplace.

48% of US Prime customers intended to buy now illustrationWhen customers browse Prime Day sales, they have a high intent to purchase. WBX Commerce data shows that Prime Day 2020 conversions were 170% higher than the yearly average, and 139% higher than Cyber Monday. Additionally, 48% of U.S. Prime customers stated that they intended to purchase a product on Amazon Prime Day 2020 but did not know what they wanted to buy. Only 6% of Prime members knew what they wanted to purchase before the event began, which is why using an Amazon marketing agency like WBX Commerce is particularly important on days like Prime Day that tend to have more customers with no clear direction.

Customers who attend Prime Day are looking for the best deals and are likely to purchase if they see an attractive promotion. Because these customers base their decisions on pricing rather than brand loyalty, they are more likely to try new brands and products. This increased traffic, along with a higher intent to purchase, increases product visibility and attracts fresh conversions—and new customers have the potential to become repeat purchasers in the long run.

Tips to Prepare for Amazon Prime Day

Amazon Prime Day is a lucrative but highly competitive event. Many brands plan their strategies well in advance—usually at least three to four months beforehand—to ensure that they have the visibility, pricing, and promotions necessary to drive sales. Here’s how to prepare for Prime Day 2021.

Listing optimization

Before a brand can take full advantage of Prime Day, it will need to optimize its Amazon product listings for maximum visibility. Listing optimization involves a number of steps, including:

  • Analyzing historical and marketplace data to better understand search trends and customer behavior specific to a brand’s product category
  • Identifying the most common search terms and phrases among customers
  • Ensuring that the description, bullet points, back-end fields, and title contain high-ranking keywords
  • Choosing the most attractive product configurations for Prime Day sales
  • Investing in off-platform advertising and social media campaigns to drive traffic to Amazon listings, increasing search result rankings

When preparing for Amazon Prime Day, remember that competitors are also considering these factors. To stay ahead of the competition, brands must either meet their competitors at their level or take a more aggressive approach.

Investing in optimization from a reputable provider such as WBX Commerce positions brands for Prime Day success. WBX Commerce offers data-driven Amazon listing optimization services, helping brands determine everything from which product configurations to offer to the best price point.

Attractive pricing

Strong Amazon Prime Day deals attract customers; these customers are searching for the best discount possible, after all. If a brand offers a small discount and its competitor offers a larger one, customers will likely buy the cheaper product.

Brands must know how to price their products—and which deals they should offer—to attract the most customers. Initiating these pricing strategies not only on Prime Day but also in the days leading up to Prime Day helps brands stay ahead of competitors who focus solely on the event.

WBX Commerce analyzes historical and competitor data to help brands appropriately price their products for Amazon Prime Day. It uses this information to identify the optimal price points to maximize sales, developing an attractive and customized pricing strategy to drive Prime Day success.

Promotional strategies

To accompany its pricing and optimization strategies, brands need to develop an aggressive marketing approach. Brands must not only run attractive Prime Day deals but also advertise their promotions ahead of the event. Brands will need to develop their own marketing campaigns or incongruence with an Amazon marketing agency, like WBX Commerce, on Amazon itself and other sources such as social media platforms.

Using proprietary technology, WBX Commerce integrates historical Prime Day, brand-specific, and Amazon Marketplace data to understand purchasing trends among a brand’s customers. This data helps the brand better understand customer behavior, identify their most popular product offerings, and develop appropriate promotional campaigns. WBX Commerce provides full transparency into its marketing recommendations, helping brands understand how these analytics translate to Prime Day conversions.

Key Takeaways

Amazon Prime Day is a unique event—but to maximize growth, brands need to know how to prepare for Prime Day 2021. It is important to view Prime Day not just as a singular event but as an opportunity to acquire new customers who may create revenue in the future.

To develop the strongest Prime Day strategy possible, trust WBX Commerce. WBX Commerce provides pricing, fulfillment, marketing, and optimization services to maximize brand success on Amazon Prime Day and beyond. Contact WBX Commerce today to learn more about Amazon Marketplace services.

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