Shopping habits and behaviours have changed rapidly over the Covid-19 pandemic and it has never been more important for businesses to learn how to sell well when setting up on Amazon, or indeed, how to increase sales on Amazon if selling on Amazon is already a part of your online sales strategy.
Amazon is a powerful advertising tool that enables you to show your products to customers who are ready to buy. However, the world of online shopping is more competitive than ever. Whether customers have been shielding, self-isolating or been furloughed at home, the effect of this is that it has pushed us all online like never before.
People who may have previously shopped solely on the high street have no choice but to shop online. People who didn’t own a mobile phone or have internet access prior to the pandemic are now enjoying their new found freedom of being able to order their essentials (and non-essentials) from the comfort of their own home. Our COVID-19 consumer research report found that 25% of over-55s have increased how often they shop on Amazon.
The behavioural changes that have come with the pandemic have pushed whole new demographics of people online who are new potential customers for your business. The percentage of people shopping more often on Amazon increased from 19% during the first wave to 29% during the second. It doesn’t come as a surprise that the increasing sales on Amazon has helped to double their profit year-on-year!
For more statistics on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed shopping behaviour, view our COVID-19 Shopper research report findings here.
Simply having your products listed on Amazon isn’t enough to get them viewed or purchased. Here are some tips for how to boost and increase sales on Amazon in 5 steps for brands who are new to the platform or unfamiliar with basic optimisation techniques:
Optimise product titles
Your product listing titles are the first thing a customer sees, so make a good first impression by making them appealing and descriptive. Your titles should include the brand name, product name and features customers are likely to search for, such as: size, colour, fit, quantity etc. It’s also best practice to capitalise the first letter of each word in your title, spell out measurements, use numerals for numbers, and not use an ampersand (&). The more bases you cover, the more enticing your product will appear to a potential customer and the more you can boost Amazon sales.
Gain reviews
It’s no secret that reviews can be hard to get. Unless your product is amazing or absolutely useless, most people won’t want to use their free time to leave a review – this doesn’t mean they’re not important. Reviews are extremely important in order to become a trusted seller on Amazon. The more 5-star reviews, the more likely shoppers will choose you over the closest competitor with fewer or worse ratings.
Don’t forget keywords
The keywords that users are searching for change all the time, so it’s important that you regularly monitor keyword performance and experiment with different keywords to see which drive the most product views and sales. There are many paid and free tools that can help with this. Optimise your product title and description to ensure you reach your listing’s full potential. If you’re not already, you should also consider paid advertising (pay-per-click) via Amazon’s Sponsored Ads service. Amazon’s PPC advertising works hand-in-hand with SEO optimisation to help you maintain competitive advantage in a crowded marketplace.
Sync Your Inventory
If you sell your products across multiple platforms, including Amazon, syncing your inventory can make selling as a whole much easier. Rather than logging on to make changes to multiple systems, you will be able to change them all in one place, which will be a big time saver. You can also keep the tone of your products consistent across all platforms which will help you maintain your brand persona. If you notice that you seem to gain more views and sales on one particular platform, compare your titles and descriptions. Make sure you are prioritising your Amazon listings and giving them the best (or at least equal) chances of converting.
Improve Imagery
The first thing a potential customer sees, even before your title, is your product image. High-quality, clear photos that are visually appealing and make it clear what the product is are what you should be aiming for. You don’t need a professional set-up to take appealing photos, just a neutral backdrop and some good natural lighting. If you are selling homeware, for example a lamp, it’s a good idea to take a photo of it in a home setting, so customers can see how it may look in their home.
Need some help improving your Amazon product listings? Melody is an Amazon agency, who provide data-driven strategies and transparent reporting to help you succeed on Amazon. Get in touch now.
This article was written by Matt Howes, Ecommerce Director at Melody agency.
