Master Q4 success with Toucan’s free checklist

With Q4 just around the corner, this time of year presents multiple growth opportunities for all sellers on Amazon through upcoming promotional events such as Prime Deal Days, Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the festive gifting period. 

 

Inventory Planning 

 

As Q4 is a peak period for all sellers, it is vital to plan and factor in delays to Amazon’s warehouse, especially if using FBA. Utilising Amazon’s forecasting tools can help to ensure that you always have ample stock of your Amazon best sellers.  

 

Top tip: If feasible, consider having stock both in FBA and MFN (Merchant fulfilment network), this will ensure you have a plan B if you experience delays with your FBA shipment. 

 

Pricing Strategy 

 

If on the Seller model, review product pricing of your Amazon catalogue to ensure that your price is competitive by monitoring competitor pricing activity. This can help to avoid any missed sales due to your offering not being as desirable to Amazon customers. 

 

This will especially have to be factored in during pre-deal periods to help drive momentum ahead of any deals and discounts over Q4. 

 

Top tip: Amazon’s automated pricing feature can help ensure that your products are always competitive against the market and category. 

 

Product Listing Content 

 

Ahead of the Q4 period, it is crucial to conduct a catalogue content audit to help identify any gaps in your content and to make any updates ahead of the peak period. 

 

Tailoring your content for the festive period can help drive SEO by ensuring all PDPs are retail-ready with high-quality listing imagery, A+ content and brand stores. Updating your PDP copy can also help to drive organic ranking and discoverability.  

 

 Top Tip: 75% of shoppers learn about new brands on Amazon during promotional periods, so having a high-quality listing is crucial! 

 

Exclusive Offers & Discounts 

 

Planning exclusive offers and discounts throughout Q4 is crucial in driving growth and maximising sales opportunities. The influx of traffic on Amazon during promotional periods can be key to driving brand awareness and helps to provide an end-of-year sales boost. 

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Top tip: Ensure you cover lead-in and lead-out deals to help continue the drive-in sales momentum and attract high purchase intent shoppers looking for the best deals throughout Q4. 

  

Lightning & Best Deals 

 

Ensure that your eligible products are running in lightning and best deals ahead of the promotional periods throughout Q4. 

 

Lightning and best deals must be submitted to Amazon, and they will decide whether to accept the deal promo. Many sellers across Amazon will also run deals for Prime Deal Days events, Black Friday/ Cyber Monday and covering the festive period. 

 

Top Tip: Factor deal ASINs into your Q4 advertising strategy to ensure they get enough coverage and discoverability – driving conversion through boosting key advertising campaigns. 

  

Advertising Strategy & Planning 

 

Having a strong advertising strategy in place can help to drive product sales and conversion across Q4. Ensuring you cover the full funnel enabling Amazon Sponsored Product, Sponsored Brand, Sponsored Display and Amazon’s Demand-Side Platform (DSP) is essential. 

 

Top tip: Analyse past Q4 data to identify key trends. There may be peak days and times that you see the most traffic on your listings. Use this knowledge to help create the strongest advertising plan.