Last Updated: October 28, 2022

Is Your 2022 Amazon Holiday Strategy Primed for the Prime Fall Deal Event? (UPDATED With Results)

Authored by:
Sarah Davis
Sarah Davis
Senior Content Marketing Specialist

10/28 Update: Amazon Holiday Strategy Stories of Success From ROI Clients

For most brands, Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale delivered higher sales volume than on average days – but numbers weren’t nearly as high as they are during the traditional summertime Prime Day.

The holiday joy started early for many brands that have partnered with ROI Revolution for Amazon and retail media management. For some ROI clients, Amazon’s October 2022 sale resulted in even more exciting wins than the July sale!

Some of the most jaw-dropping stories include:

ROI Revolution’s retail media experts act as an extension of your team to deliver amazing wins and grow your brand profitably. If you want to add some energy to your Amazon strategy not just during the holidays or Prime Day but all year round, let’s see what untapped growth opportunities we can discover for your brand. Send a message to our team today.

10/20 Update: Results From Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale Reveal Lower AOVs, Price Sensitivity

Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale took place on October 11-12, 2022, delivering a boost in sales and kicking off the start of the 2022 Amazon holiday strategy for many brands at the outset of the Q4 ecommerce shopping season. Shoppers purchased over 100 million items on Amazon during the event.

29% of Prime Early Access Sale shoppers purchased holiday gifts during the event.

Of that 29%, 31% of the Prime Early Access Sale shoppers who purchased holiday gifts bought at least half of the gifts they need to buy. 95% say they plan to buy holiday gifts on Amazon again within the next three months.

Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Stores, said in a post-event press release:

“Our Prime Early Access Sale was a great kickoff to the holidays, and the best part is that it’s only the beginning. Customers will find millions of must-have deals throughout the season that will help them continue to save money on gifts for loved ones.”

The event wasn’t immune to current consumer concerns around inflation and spending, however. According to Numerator, inflation impacted 79% of shoppers. 13% of Prime Early Access Sale shoppers researched prices outside of Amazon because of inflation. In the US, inflation was up 8.2% year-over-year in September 2022.

AOVs were less than expected, with the average order value (AOV) of items purchased during the event coming in at just $48.86 – 23% lower than AOVs on Prime Day 2022. 58% of the items purchased during the early hours of Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale cost under $20.

The halo effect was less significant during the Early Access Sale than Amazon’s traditional Prime Day events. In fact, 30% of retailers in Digital Commerce 360’s Top 100 hosted competing deals on marketplaces outside of Amazon during Prime Day 2022. That number was just 7% for the Prime Early Access Sale. 32% of Prime Early Access Sale shoppers did compare prices at other retailers.

What is the halo effect? Typically, many retailers like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart, along with D2C companies, will host competing deals of their own during the same time period as Prime Day, creating a halo effect of more deals and increased sales.

The top items consumers say they’ve purchased are household essentials, health & beauty, and apparel & shoes. 23% of shoppers bought everyday goods that they already planned to purchase. 15% purchased larger-ticket products that they would only buy while on sale

36% of Prime Early Access Sale shoppers spent more during the sale than on Prime Day, 64% of Prime Early Access Sale shoppers spent more on Prime Day 2022 than they did during the Fall sale. 15% spent significantly more, 12% spent significantly less.

Amazon didn’t promote the event to the same degree as Prime Day, and 9% of shoppers didn’t know about the event until they logged onto Amazon. This could be part of the reason for the smaller size of the event compared to Prime Day.

Keep reading this blog for more details about the Prime Early Access sales event. To discover more predictions and trends about the 2022 holiday ecommerce shopping season, explore our resources below:

ROI Revolution’s team of retail media experts are armed with strategic knowledge about how to succeed on Amazon. Send a message to our team today to explore how we can help your brand discover untapped opportunities for profitable growth.

9/26 Update: Prime Early Access Sales Date Announced

Amazon has announced that the Prime Fall Event, officially named the Prime Early Access Sale, will occur October 11th and 12th, 2022.

Is your 2022 Amazon holiday strategy taking the Amazon Prime Fall Deal Event into account? Brands that sell on Amazon should keep a close eye out for a Prime Day-esque sales event that Amazon will reportedly host in September or October, according to outlets like Business Insider, Fortune, and TechCrunch.

Amazon has not spoken publicly about the event, but the online retailer reportedly sent a message to sellers in Q2 about the second Prime Day event. According to Feedvisor, the event will likely be held in early to mid-October.

Brands that want to participate need to submit Lightning Deals for approval by September 2nd and ship products for Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) by September 12th.

The Prime Fall Deal Event gives Amazon sellers and vendors the opportunity to supercharge their Q4 earnings with a strong start to the holiday season.

In this article, you will:

Using July’s Prime Day to Inform Your 2022 Amazon Holiday Strategy

There is a significant amount of uncertainty in the ecommerce industry right now. Consumer behaviors have been shifting consistently for the past nearly three years, and issues like inflation and supply chain strain throw another wrench in your attempts to have a smooth holiday season.

Luckily, you don’t have to start from scratch to determine your strategy for Amazon’s Fall Prime Deal Event! Leverage insights from Amazon’s July Prime Day to help inform a profitable strategy for this second event. Your October Prime Day sales could even outperform your July Prime Day sales if you develop an informed enough strategy.

This summer’s Prime Day proved that consumers are shopping earlier yet again this year. In fact, 38% of Prime Day shoppers say they purchased holiday gifts at the event! At ROI, our Amazon experts noticed that more shoppers than in previous years got online to shop at midnight when deals went live. Past Prime Day events have seen traffic increasing gradually throughout the day, but in July traffic picked up much more quickly starting in early morning hours.

This year’s July Prime Day was the most successful for brands that were able to leverage deep discounts to appeal to shoppers interested in getting a good deal. More and more customers are searching for low prices right now as inflation rates rise and products become more expensive. In fact, according to Salesforce, the average sales price (ASP) of products is set to increase 8-12% each month for the remainder of 2022.

The second Prime Day event in October will also be an opportunity to gauge performance and determine your strategy for the rest of the 2022 holiday shopping season.

Don’t forget that you need to allow time to make sure you have ad coverage for your deals and promotions, as well as to make sure your ads appear in the first place. Where do you want your ads to appear and what ad types do you want to use? Determining this early and ensuring that your creative assets get developed and approved in time will be crucial to effectively executing your Prime Fall Event strategy.

Don’t Forget to Factor Inventory Into Your 2022 Amazon Holiday Strategy

As an instantaneous hub for products that people need, the Amazon marketplace relies on having sufficient inventory and free shipping. It may be somewhat difficult to plan your Amazon holiday strategy for 2022 until the event dates are officially announced and you know how much inventory you have left after it takes place. Inventory management will be the key to success on Amazon during the Prime Fall Deal Event and, just a few weeks later, Cyber Week.

Participating in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can help ensure that your customers are satisfied with the shipping process – just make sure you adhere to the reported deadline of September 12.

Some have noticed that Amazon has been experiencing less inventory issues than other marketplaces due to its aggressive shipping and fulfillment strategies like FBA. Many shoppers expect to get a better price on Amazon due to the marketplace’s price controls, meaning inflation and shipping are less of an issue on Amazon right now. For these reasons, Amazon sellers may not have to be as concerned about inflation or the potential looming recession, though the trends vary a lot between industries. For example, luxury fashion conversion rates are declining because people have less disposable income again.

2022 Amazon Holiday Strategy Selling Tips & Industry Insights

On Amazon, the highest performing holiday deals are outright discounts with a slash-through price as opposed to deals that require shoppers to clip a coupon to redeem or a BOGO. That extra step provides additional friction, and many shoppers don’t understand that they have to clip the coupon.

Of course, customers will always expect free shipping on Amazon, so make sure your product is available on Prime or that you can provide free shipping for it yourself.

“With consumers shopping earlier than ever yet again this year, consider turning on your seasonal campaigns earlier in Cyber 5 – even Thanksgiving evening. Make sure you have enough budget to start on Thanksgiving Day. Pace your ad spend accordingly and try to get approval for more budget than you typically would earlier on in the shopping season.” – Carly Turpin, Team Lead, Retail Media

Approvals for pushing Store changes or other manual updates like Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Brands Video may take more time than usual during the 2022 holiday shopping season. Typically, approval takes up to 48 hours. But right now and leading up to the holiday season, brands should give their ads a week to get approved.

On top of that, some ads are being disapproved without explanation, which requires more manual work on behalf of your brand. It’s better to be safe and give yourself more time than you think you’ll need.

Brands in industries like lawn and garden that don’t typically have Q4 seasonality have the opportunity to see boosts in Q4 from Amazon’s Prime Fall Deal Event.

Electronics brands can also expect to see boosts from the event not just because of holiday seasonality but also because of sales still trickling in from students going back to school in the fall.

Brands that sell electronics or any other products with a higher average order value (AOV) should expect customers to start their research and shopping earlier. The consumer electronics category performed well during July’s Prime Day, but due to rising inflation rates and a potential looming recession, shoppers are likely to be a little more careful about their big purchases. Set the expectation for yourself now that YOY sales may not grow as much or may even see declines.

Tying It All Together

Amazon is a key ecommerce channel for driving sales and revenue during the holidays. In 2022, brands and retailers will face yet another unprecedented Q4 shopping season, with a Prime Fall Deals Event, inflation, supply chain strain, and other new trends complicating your 2022 Amazon holiday strategy.

You don’t have to face the uncertainty alone! ROI Revolution’s team of digital experts have over 20 years of experience with online advertising and can help your brand discover profitable growth on Amazon and other marketplaces. Reach out to our team today to uncover opportunities to drive more revenue throughout not just the holiday season but during any time you have peak seasonality.

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