Amazon Prime Day set for July 11-12. Here are deals sellers will

With Amazon announcing on Wednesday that the 2023 Prime Day sales event will take place July 11-July 12, now’s an especially good opportunity for sellers to ramp up promotions.

This year, there are some new deal offers Amazon is trying out, including exclusive deals on fast-selling items for Prime subscription club members, as well as Prime Day deals that will be available on third-party retailer websites, backed by Amazon’s inventory and shipping infrastructure.

Every year, there are various planning steps sellers should be taking ahead of Prime Day, including reviewing the sales strategies they will use, from temporary, deep discounts known as Lightning Deals, to coupons and social media promotion codes. Which options sellers choose can depend on many factors, including their product, budget, social media following, and intended timing. That means careful strategizing to get the most bang for your buck and the ultimate rewards — more devoted customers and increased sales not just during Prime Day but throughout the year. 

“The goal of doing any deal is to get more products into more hands because you want people to become loyal customers. If you’re not achieving that, you’re just wasting your money,” said Phil Masiello, chief executive of digital marketing company CrunchGrowth. 

Here are ways small businesses should be thinking about promotions to propel sales on Prime Day and beyond:

The cost of selling on Amazon can eat into profits

The cost to sell on Amazon can be considerable and varies depending on factors such as a merchant’s selling plan, product category, fulfillment strategy and other variables. E-commerce entrepreneurs can use Amazon’s Seller Central online calculator to estimate the cost and profitability of selling a product on Amazon. They can then factor in the cost of the promotion to help determine what to run so as not to eat too deeply into profits, said Troy Evans, product manager at Skai, an omnichannel marketing platform.

Often it can be a judgment call. A promotion might not be the most profitable, but it could be worth doing anyway because of the sales spike it generates, Evans said. “That’s the trade-off.”

Sellers also need to be aware that consumers on Amazon are extremely price-conscious and factor that into their pricing decisions, said Gia Ching, managing director at GCC Consulting, a digital marketing and design company. “Even 50 cents can move the needle significantly. It can make or break your product.”

You can learn a lot from Lightning Deals

On Prime Day, Lightning Deals are exclusively for Prime Members, but this type of promotion can be offered more broadly at other points of the year. While it’s likely too late to have a Lightning Deal approved in time for this year’s Prime Day event, sellers should think ahead to see whether the strategy can be used effectively at another point. 

“I’ve seen just as much success for Lightning Deals at other times of the year,” said Nick…