Q4 is finally here and Amazon sellers need to make sure to be fully prepared for the most important part of the year. Many Amazon sellers tend to think that it’s best to try and focus on one particular part of their Amazon business in order to crush it and grow rapidly.
The truth is that it really takes a focus on a few key functions or running a business that really helps Amazon sellers maximize the opportunity that is available to them. Here are a few important things to focus on during Q4.
Inventory Management
Amazon sellers need to make sure that every single product that they have in stock, whether on FBA, or in their own warehouse is available for sale on Amazon. Pay close attention in your Amazon seller central account for any FBA stranded inventory that needs attention so the product goes live and is available for purchase on the Amazon listing page.
FBA stranded inventory can happen for numerous reasons, like pricing error, customer complaints that need to be resolved, and many more. The most important thing to understand here is that the reason for the product being stranded and not available for purchase on Amazon needs to be immediately resolved by the seller.
Another thing that Amazon sellers need to check up on is suppressed inventory. This inventory status is a bit different from suppressed inventory. A suppressed listing is technically available for purchase on Amazon only if someone uses the URL of the listing page. The listing itself is not available for people searching for products on Amazon because Amazon is suppressing the indexing and discoverability of the listing.
The reasons for suppressed listings are plenty but usually happen due to missing or incorrect information on the listing page that Amazon wants the sellers to resolve. Make sure to resolve any issues you might have with your listing so none of your Amazon inventory is suppressed.
Another inventory management challenge in Q4 is trying to predict how much inventory to stock up with. The truth is that every product and seller is different from each other. Sellers should make a calculated decision on how much inventory to source and stock up based on all the data that is available to them.
Another thing to consider is if you overstock this Q4, will you be able to afford it? Or will you be able to easily liquidate it during Q1 of 2022? If on any of these questions the answer is yes, then go ahead, stock up with inventory, and try to maximize every little bit of demand from the Q4 craziness.
Listing Optimization
Q4 is the prime time season for selling on Amazon. Make sure to have all your listings optimized to the brim before reaching Black Friday.
You want to make all the mistakes possible with updating the content and creatives on your Amazon listings and get it all looking and feeling well a week or two before Black Friday which kicks off the holiday sales season. A simple and great tip is to add visuals or videos that are showing your products as great holiday season gifts to increase your conversion.
Logistics
There is a super important update that Amazon has announced regarding shipping inventory on time to FBA to be available for consumers to purchase for the Christmas season. The new update date is Dec 2, 2021. The original date was December 11, 2021.
This means that if you want your products to sell on FBA during the crazy peak days towards Christmas, all of your inventory needs to be received by FBA no later than that date. Any inventory that is received past Dec 2, 2021 will miss the peak and will be available for sale during Q1 of 2022. Make sure to adjust yourself accordingly to this deadline!
Many Amazon sellers are facing serious challenges with sourcing in Asia and shipping from Asia to the US. Factories are increasing prices and delaying production times, the same thing goes for shipping containers with logistics companies.
In addition to all of that, Amazon is expecting inventory to be received on FBA earlier than originally planned and is also imposing FBA storage limitations. Many sellers are trying to resolve such challenges by ordering big quantities from Asia, storing the inventory in 3PL centers in the US, dripping inventory into FBA, and also offering their products as Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM).
Advertising
There will be many eyeballs browsing through Amazon during Q4 and most of these eyeballs have full intent and ability to make a purchase. This means that sellers should drive as much traffic as possible to their listing and blow up in sales. Of course, the listings need to be optimized for maximum conversion.
The conversion percentage rate on your listings should increase and this increase should more than compensate you for the increase in ad spend (expect ad bidding costs to triple or more) and especially for the increase in keyword bidding prices.
Do not be cheap, do not back up for upping your bids and compete, but only make sure to be bullish on spending if your listings are really calibrated properly for conversion. Oh yeah, also make sure you can financially afford the bidding war. If you are tight on cash, it is better to play on the safe side.
Chinese New Year Notice
If you are sourcing from China, you should already have your inventory shipped to the US at this point, or at least a few days away from arriving on time to be sold in Q4. Nevertheless, you should be placing orders during Q4 from China if you want to have enough inventory for Q1 and beyond.
The Chinese New Year will take place in early February into early March of 2022. Make sure to adjust all your orders accordingly so you do not stock out because of the Chinese New Year vacation break.
Account Health
Amazon sellers should go to Seller Central and check if they have any Performance Notifications from Amazon. If they find any notifications regarding warnings, violations, complaints, and other issues, they should address and fix them right away. The reason is, that if such issues are not addressed, Amazon might suspend your listings, or even worse, suspend your entire account.
Amazon sellers should avoid at all costs being left out of the Q4 game, so make sure to be on top of your account health performance and quickly react to any issues that arise during Q4. The faster you respond, the better.
We hope that the key functions provided in this article are useful and helpful for Amazon sellers. We wish you all great success this Q4 season and that you continue to grow and succeed on Amazon.
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