The Basics of Amazon

When should a brand launch on Amazon?

If you are already an established brand, there is no reason to hold off launching on Amazon as soon as possible. Additionally, if you are about to launch a new brand, starting on Amazon can be a great way to develop brand awareness and drive initial sales. If you have an in-demand product, consumers are more likely to come across your brand on Amazon than organically. Particularly as 68% of consumers now start their online shopping searches directly on the platform. For any brand there will be an initial period needed for sales momentum to generate, so why not start on Amazon early and begin building right away.

How can I sell my products on Amazon?

Sellers have two options when they list their ranges on Seller Central: Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) and Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM). FBA is Amazon’s warehousing and fulfilment service that allows sellers to send inventory to an Amazon warehouse for them to handle the dispatching of orders. In contrast, with FBM the seller takes full responsibility for managing inventory and shipping orders.

Do you recommend FBA or FBM?

We recommend most brands to use FBA (Fulfilled By Amazon) as it is a proven means of boosting your presence and ranking on the platform. Particularly as it opens up the use of Amazon Prime for your store which is a key reason consumers use Amazon and a surefire way to ensure you remain competitive.

What are some best practices for launching on Amazon?

Never launch a brand until you are ‘retail ready’. Whilst this is subjective, we see it as having honed product listings in place that reflect your product in the best light, with good imagery and copy.Amazon places high priority on customer experience and incorporates conversion rate into their rankings. It’s important to prioritise CX as a new brand may gain a lot of clicks, but might not convert these to sales - which could impact your future ranking.

How can you gauge the size of the market for your product on Amazon?

Amazon is much more open from an insights perspective than other selling and advertising platforms. Using tools, such as Jungle Scout, you are able to easily research the sales and revenue figures of competitors and comparable products to quantify the potential demand and competition levels on the marketplace. This is highly valuable data to help plan your launch and forecast potential sales.

What impacts your ranking on Amazon?

There are three metrics that affect the Amazon A10 Algorithm. These metrics can help you understand how to boost your launch:

1. Sales Velocity - this is the rate of how fast you sell your products on Amazon. The quicker you sell, the higher you will place on the search results page.
2. Click-Through-Rate (CTR) - is the percentage of customers who view and click on your product. This is a strong indication of how relevant your product listing is to viewers.
3. Conversion Rate - This is the rate of customers who actually buy your product. The higher your conversion rate, the higher your sales.

What is Amazon brand registry?

Amazon brand registry is a program designed to allow a brand owner to protect their trademark on the platform and access enhanced marketing features. Any brand with a trademark qualifies to enrol for its Registry Program and is a feature we highly recommend utilising to make the most of the platform and protect yourself from imitation/fraudulent listings.Registering gives you full control over your product listings, unlocks A+ Content (previously called Enhanced Brand Content) and allows you to create a Storefront. Amazon’s A+ Content feature opens up expanded product listings features and makes you stand out from the competition. You can add high-quality product images, tailored paragraph headers, and add bulleted feature lists for a truly unique product listing. Storefronts are solely available to registered brands and allow you to customise the looks and layout of your store, using a selection of templates.These are the primary benefits from a selling standpoint, but you also gain access to a dedicated Amazon support team and in-depth analytics functions. In summary, it is never too early or late to join Amazon, but ensure you are ready to give the platform the initial attention it requires to ensure success and utilise the additional functions it offers to their fullest to differentiate yourself from the competition. If you’re looking for some more guidance, or want some advice on getting or optimising your brand on Amazon, drop us a line on hey@303.london.