The question of whether to sell on Amazon continues to drive much debate. In our experience, Amazon can be quite effective at driving sales and customer file growth. If you are thinking about selling on Amazon, here are a few things to consider;
- Brand is key. Consumers will choose brands they trust and recognize first.
- Example 1: A large heritage brand of men’s and women’s apparel has had success on Amazon because of the power of their brand awareness.
- Example 2: A children’s educational toy company (originally a catalog business) branded their products and packaging and has had great success on Amazon in a saturated market.
- Product is always king. Selling unique product will always help drive results.
- If you offer a commodity product, it needs to be the lowest price compared to competitors.
- If you sell third party products, then you really need to have the lowest price.
- Lifetime Value (LTV) is not impacted. We are seeing that customers acquired through Amazon are just as valuable as customers acquired through other channels.
- Their profile also remains consistent with customers acquired direct.
- Frequently Asked Questions: “Is Amazon a friend or foe?” Our answer: “Frenemy.”
- Amazon can work to effectively drive sales volume and acquire customers. There are ways to lure customers directly once they purchase, especially if your brand captures the customer’s information and meets their expectations.
- Ready to launch? Make sure assortment, price points, branding on the packaging, and customer reviews are top-of-mind. Most importantly, you will need to implement paid advertising on Amazon in order to support the growth of your marketplace sales.
As always, we are here to be a sounding board for any new challenges or opportunities you face. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us here.
