Over the past 10 years, Prime Day has become a critical sales event for brands, especially for the countless small and medium-sized sellers that rely on Amazon to grow their businesses. And Amazon revealed that the July 2024 event was its most successful iteration to date — largely due to the millions of new members who signed up for Prime in the three weeks leading up to the event’s start.
But make no mistake, you don’t have to necessarily sell on Amazon to reap the benefits of Prime Day. The “midsummer sales period” has become a critical part of the marketing calendar now, with Prime Day at the center of it all.
“Even just two years ago, there was a question of whether brands were going to do Prime Day or if they were just going to sit back and not try to compete in such a loud environment,” explained Sarah Engel, President of January Digital. “That’s not an option anymore. It’s clear now that this is what consumers expect. And I think brands have the responsibility to put it in their plans to participate. It has now become its own holiday moment.”
Retail TouchPoints recently published a deep-dive report to help businesses of all sizes capitalize on the relevance and impact of Prime Day, both the summer and inevitable fall iterations. You can download the report to get all the juice details, or read on for some key takeaways.
Top Tips from Prime Day
- Embrace gamification: People love Prime Day because they love the thrill of the hunt. “What brands and products can I find today, and what incredible deals will I be able to get?” they ask. This innate excitement and urgency can support gamified marketing and engagement principles — something businesses of any size can embrace.
- Harness the power of the badge: Consumers look at Amazon badges when they’re considering an item. Is it “Amazon’s Choice”? Or maybe it’s a “Limited-Time Deal.” These badges help build credibility and also drive urgency, so they’re worth the investment. But be quick, because these badges run out fast!
- Prioritize your products: If you carry a broader portfolio of products, it’s important to think strategically about which products you should offer deals on, as well as how steep the discounts should be. Will you have enough inventory to support your direct sales business? You don’t want to sell yourself short!
- Use more dynamic advertising options: Amazon has a robust portfolio of advertising solutions, but experts indicated that there is a big opportunity to embrace more branded ad experiences that allow you to tell richer stories, not just push products. Sure, it’s important to have a really hot deal to drive acquisition, but you can use these branded experiences to pull customers in for the long term.
- Embrace the halo effect: Salesorce saw that even brands and retailers not participating in Prime Day were reaping the benefits of the sales holiday. Consumers were eager to shop and smart brands implementing timely deals and offers to get a piece of the pie. If you don’t have a presence on Amazon, this is something to consider!
Click here to get the full report.
