Last year, Amazon changed the game with the announcement of Prime Early Access Sale taking place in early October. The tentpole event was an early kickoff to the holiday shopping season, selling over 100 million products from Amazon selling partners, and this year is likely to be no different. Amazon recently announced the dates for October's Prime Day which will take place from October 10-11, and brands need to be prepared. July's Prime Day successes and failures can - and should - influence your strategy for this upcoming shopping event. Keep reading to learn how your brand can leverage July's Prime Day results to prepare for the upcoming Prime Day.
Leveraging Prime Day Success for Prime Early Access Sale Strategies
The current economic state may have resulted in brands spending more conservatively this year compared to last, however, Maddie Korkowski, Code3 Search Advertising Analyst, noted that “Brand dollars went a lot further as we saw across the board lower CPCs. As a result, Code3 Search Strategists were able to drive more efficient media spend, ultimately boosting clients’ return on ad spend by 12% during the event days.”
Last year, Prime Day results correlated closely with eventual Prime Early Access Sale results, meaning our Code3 Search team anticipates seeing lower CPCs again during the fall shopping event, as well as likely into the holiday shopping season. Additionally, we also anticipate seeing lower conversion rates during Prime Early Access Sale 2023 than 2022, given that consumers are researching and comparing more this year to ensure they are getting the best deals for their dollars. Results are showing shoppers are buying lower ticket items, steeper discounted items or a combination of both.
These results indicate that Prime Early Access is an event not to be missed, and brands should consider incorporating it into their Q4 and holiday advertising strategy. With an increased ROAS during Prime Day 2023, brands should spend as much as they can on advertising during the Q4 tentpole shopping events, starting with Prime Early Access. It’s critical to ensure your brand has sufficient budget for building up to the event, support during, and are equipped to take advantage of increased traffic post-event.
This is particularly true for brands in the electronics and grocery categories. Grocery products were top converters during Prime Early Access 2022 and Prime Day 2023, an interesting trend when it comes to tentpole shopping events.
Additionally, brands in the electronics category that embraced strategic Prime Day investment saw “game changing results when compared to those not running promotions,” said Brooke Martinez, Code3 Search Advertising Analyst. “The 6% YoY sales growth and 5% improvement in ROI showcased the power of targeted efforts. Running promotions during the event further fueled our client's success. Brands that participated witnessed an impressive ROAS of $12.39, while non-participants saw $7.51.”
Reaching New Customers Through Tentpole Events
This year, Code3 clients leveraged Prime Day to reach more net-new customers during the two-day shopping event, up 6% compared to last year. 74% of Sponsored Brand sales were new-to-brand, up 10% YoY, signaling tentpole events are a great opportunity to garner new customers. For Prime Early Access, this could mean introducing new customers to a brand just ahead of the vital holiday season.
Brands who saw success with new consumers during Prime Day should anticipate those same consumers seeking them out directly for similar deals during subsequent events.
Now is a time to take a deep dive into Prime Day performance, and leverage wins and losses into a stronger strategy. In addition to determining how much incremental dollars can be pushed to Prime Day Early Access, brands can analyze other important tactics such as:
- Their best-performing deals
- Highest converting ASINs
- Best targeting tactics
- Highest performing advertising keywords
All of this and more should influence a brand’s strategy for Q4. If your brand could use a strategic partner to support holiday shopping strategy and beyond, Code3 can help. Contact us today.
