The promotional days at the start of the Christmas shopping season have been growing in popularity for years.These are my five tips for Amazon retailers to get the most out of these days.
1. Robust preparation instead of speculative mind games
In the past, Black Friday has brought Amazon retailers significant increases in sales. According to the data we observed from our business customers in online retail in 2022, there were 65 percent more orders, 72 percent more sales and 4.2 percent more sales per order on Black Friday compared to the day the previous week and the week after. Advent is generally regarded as the shopping season of the year. With these figures, it is easy to draw similar conclusions for this year. However, the stock market teaches us that not all anecdotal evidence from the past should be taken at face value when forecasting the future. Better than any hypothetical speculation is the robust preparation of the operating business for the high-turnover days. However, getting the most out of all of them on your own takes a lot of time. AI-based Amazon digital assistants can take over more and more of the operational tasks efficiently, contributing to higher profit margins and better sales results.
2. Meet peaks in demand with an increased inventory
It's a worst-case scenario for every Amazon selller: orders are flooding in, sales are booming, but suddenly the stock in the warehouse is depleted. To maintain the flow of products even during intense waves of demand, regular checks and timely restocking are essential. Planning ahead is an absolute priority, especially for the high-turnover end of the year, because the surge in consumption during the shopping season also extends the delivery times at Amazon, making it almost impossible to plan at short notice. AI tools support the optimization of warehouse management by closely analyzing stock levels and sales expectations and determining the ideal time for replenishment. Early and technology-supported stock control saves time for other sales measures and prevents OOS scenarios with drastic sales losses.
3. Minimize risk: Broad-based shipping management
FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) retailers must be able to ensure reliable shipping of their products even in hectic times. Resilient capacities are required to be able to ship the increased volume of orders. After all, even tried-and-tested shipping service providers can become unavailable at short notice in the event of bottlenecks. To minimize the risk of delays and complaints, it is therefore advisable to have more than just one shipping service at hand. In addition, the individual providers have advantages and disadvantages in terms of pricing, speed, end customer service and branch network, depending on the focus of their own business.
4. Increase competitiveness: optimize listing and pricing
At shopping highlights, the battle for customer attention on Amazon is particularly fierce. You can only exploit the full sales potential if you remain visible and offer attractive prices. It is therefore worth optimizing the listing using up-to-date keyword research and AI. Are the relevant keywords in the product title? Does the wording comply with current Amazon style guides and SEO guidelines? Are all slots for product photos used? AI-supported advertising dashboards bring together the most important sales and advertising figures and provide a sound basis for decision-making to tailor advertising and pricing strategies. For example, the use of coupons or a Pay per Click campaign geared towards Black Friday. To convert the high traffic into sales figures in the best possible way, it is worth focusing on the bestsellers and enhancing them with attractive prices and bundles. AI assistants such as Arthy are capable of putting together optimal bundles and thus optimizing transport and costs for retailers.
5. Detect FBA errors: claim refunds
High sales days lead to more FBA transactions. This also makes fulfillment errors by Amazon more likely. Lost goods, damage, or credit notes for buyers that the retailer is unaware of can significantly reduce profit margins in the aftermath. FBA processes should therefore be tracked and checked for refunds. Digital AI assistants such as Arthy automatically detect FBA errors to the retailer, as refund claims are not communicated by Amazon, and can even automatically forward the claim to Amazon support.
In conclusion, it can be said that the successful management of hectic sales periods requires not only thorough preparation, but also the integration of modern AI assistants such as Arthy. These can proactively alert retailers to optimisation potential and thus help to ensure that no important aspects are overlooked, even during peak sales periods. Especially in times when retailers hardly have time to think about many details due to the enormous volume, such a combination proves to be extremely helpful.
