It’s hard to go a single day without Amazon popping up in the headlines: the huge success of its FBA & P
rime program, its foray into the grocery and movie biz, its next big hardware release like the Alexa Echo, the new Amazon headquarters, or how a new distribution center is being built at a location near you, and on and on. And if you happen to miss Amazon’s mention in the news that day, just cast your eyes on the front porch of one of your neighbor’s houses and you’ll likely see at least one package from Amazon on their doorstep. If not theirs, maybe your own!
So what does Amazon’s omni-presence mean for your brand? Whether your brand is established or up and coming, maximizing your brand’s potential on the Amazon marketplace is critical to your overall success.
Here’s why your brand’s Amazon presence is so important.
If your products aren’t listed or can’t be easily found on Amazon, you’re missing out on tons of sales
Last year, nearly ½ of all online sales and 5% of all US retail sales occurred on Amazon. With over $200 billion in sales in 2018, that’s a lot of potential sales for a brand!
Due to the availability of quick shipping options via it’s Prime program and its A-Z guarantee, Amazon has gained the trust of most online shoppers. So much in fact, that most online shoppers who discover products elsewhere on the web will turn to Amazon to ultimately make their purchase.
Amazon has also become the ultimate product discovery tool for online shoppers. Over 55% of product research begins on Amazon. Even in Google search, when a customer searches for products, it’s often Amazon product links that show up first in the search results. That brings up another important point: we all know that first impressions are important. So the first impression that your Amazon product listing makes on a browsing shopper is important to whether they browse past your listing and on to a competitor or whether they become your customer. A casual shopper should easily be able to recognize how your product benefits them through the product listing title, high quality product images, an attractive description, and an ample number of positive customer reviews when they discover your Amazon product listing.
When you maximize your brand’s profile on Amazon, you boost potential sales in your brick and mortar stores and other sales channels as well
Many brand managers believe that Amazon negatively impacts brand sales potential in brick and mortar stores. However, having a well-maintained Amazon presence can help bolster the success of a brand’s in store presence. Over 25% of in-store customers will check Amazon to read product reviews about a product when first discovering it in-store. If your brand’s product listings are strong with positive reviews and you have decent control over your online sellers and online retail prices, the in-store price will be comparable to Amazon, and the customer will buy from the store.
Your brand’s Amazon presence also often impacts whether your product even makes it on store shelves. Many store managers will research Amazon first when evaluating which brands they choose to stock their store shelves with. Attractive product listings with positive reviews and strong sales are more likely to attract the attention of brick and mortar and online stores, making it more likely that they will want to carry your products.
If you don’t maximize the Amazon opportunity, your competition will
Many successful brands have made a name for themselves by getting their start on Amazon. These up start ‘private label’ sellers often do a better job of product listing presentation and advertising than more established and even popular brands. Some of these up starts have multiple products and do millions of dollars in sales on Amazon per month.
If you’re an entrepreneur with some good product ideas, there’s great potential to launch new products on Amazon and be very successful. If you’re an established brand and you’re not applying successful strategies to maximize your presence on Amazon, there’s a good chance that you will lose more and more market share on Amazon over time. This means not only lost sales on Amazon, but also across all of your sales channels. Yikes.
The bottom line is… it’s your bottom line
The importance of your brand’s Amazon presence can’t be emphasized enough. Amazon’s impact on retail will continue to grow as time goes on. Amazon’s projected revenue growth is over 20% per year through 2022. It’s possible that as it continues to make a push for more physical presence via Amazon Four Star, Pop Up stores, and Whole Foods, and as it increase its influence in difference industries, its influence and potential will measure far beyond simple revenue estimates.
Isn’t it time that you made the most of the opportunity?
About Brand Brite
Brand Brite is a brand advisor, digital marketing agency, and e-retailer that specializes in working with motivated brands to minimize the frustrations and maximize the opportunities of the Amazon marketplace. For more information, please visit our website at www.gobrandbrite.com or contact us at partners@gobrandbrite.com.
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