Industry Tips

Amazon Prime Day 2019: What Sellers Need to Know

**Mark your calendars!! Amazon Prime Day 2019 is taking place on July 15-16th! 

For many eSellers, few sale days compare to Amazon’s Prime Day. Two years ago, Amazon saw an increase of over 60% in sales on Prime Day, and last year over 100 million products were sold.

The popularity, numbers and revenue generation potential have made Amazon Prime Day the ultimate eSeller holiday, in which, according to Iain McNicoll, VP of Americas SMB at Payoneer, sellers “experience a 30% increase in sales not only during Prime Day, but also for weeks after the initial event”.

To help plan your Prime Day promotions, here is the most important information for eSellers to know about Amazon Prime Day 2019:

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Amazon Prime Day is the annual sale event of the year for Amazon designed specifically for Amazon Prime subscribers. During Prime Day, Prime members enjoy exclusive discounts on Amazon products as well as products by third party vendors.

The main goal of Amazon Prime Day, which was launched in 2015, is to reward current Prime members as well as encourage new members to join the paid-subscription prime service.  Each year more and more countries celebrate Prime Day, and today Prime members in over 17 countries, including Australia, Singapore, Luxemburg and Netherlands, which all joined in 2018, can shop during the Amazon Prime Day events.

Today, Amazon Prime Day is a worldwide celebration of online shopping, making it a top sale day for eSellers. While Amazon does not make exact numbers known, experts estimate that Prime Day 2018 generated over $4.19 billion globally – a 74% increase from 2017 estimates.

Because of the sheer volume of sales, the willingness of customers to shop and the exposure Amazon sellers get, Amazon Prime day is one of the most beneficial days for eSellers worldwide looking to increase revenue, reduce inventory and drive sales.

When is Amazon Prime Day 2019?

Amazon Prime Day 2019 will span over two days from July 15-16th.

The first Amazon Prime Day event took place on July 6th, 2015 and commemorated the 20th anniversary of Amazon. The length of Prime Day is also steadily increasing, surpassing 36 hours in 2018. This year, Prime Day will be a record-breaking 48 hours.

eSellers looking to participate in Prime Day 2019 should plan in advance, stay up-to-date regarding Prime Day promotions and know what to expect (by continuing to read this article).

Amazon Prime Day 2019: Promotions you should know about

 Since customers expect special offers on Amazon Prime Day, eSellers should be prepared to take advantage of the different types of promotions Amazon offers:

  • Lightning Deals
  • Amazon Coupons
  • Deal of the Day

Lightning Deals are promotions that are limited item deals offered for a short period of time. Customers are often limited to one product per customer. Items that pushed as Lightning Deals often enjoy increased revenue during the deal as well as improve Amazon store ranking in the long run.

Lightning deals are available for third-party sellers and vendors. Amazon pre-selects lightning deal eligible products for sellers, and vendors can pick any product to submit. To read more about eligibility, click here.

Vendors can opt-in to offer customers Amazon Coupons. In doing so, vendors can increase product awareness as well as boost sales, specifically during Prime Day.

Another great promotional tool that eSellers need to be aware of before Prime Day is the Deal of the Day option. Deal of the Day items are single items or several related items that are on sale for one day only. This type of promotion is only available to vendors.

Amazon Prime Day 2019: Deadlines for sellers

Watch this space for Amazon Prime Day 2019 deadlines! The deadlines are likely to be announced any minute, since:

  • In 2018, the deadline for third-party sellers to submit Amazon Prime Day Lightning Deals was almost two months before Prime Day took place.
  • Roughly six weeks before Prime Day 2018 was the deadline for Vendors to submit Lightning Deals, Coupons, Category Deals, etc.
  • One month (and one day) before Prime Day was the deadline for Vendors to submit marketing packages

To make sure you are ready for Prime Day deadlines, you should plan your promotions and Lightning Deal submissions now.

Conclusion

Ranking just below Singles Day, Cyber Monday and Black Friday, Amazon Prime Day is quickly becoming one of the most well-known and profitable shopping days of the year. The 48 hour sales event has the potential to boost revenue, increase exposure to new products and improve your Amazon store ranking and reputation.

To make sure you are ready for Amazon Prime Day 2019, make sure to keep an eye out for Prime Day deadlines and prepare your submissions in advance. Also make sure your store is optimized for searches, in terms of pictures and content. Make sure to build a budget for promotion and increase your spending to increase revenue generation.

Don’t underestimate the power a single day has on your business. Prepare now for the shopping frenzy that is fast approaching!

Tami Ben-David

Tami is the content team leader at Payoneer. She has extensive experience in tech marketing, specifically in the eCommerce sphere. In her spare time, Tami likes to swim, ski and travel.