Originally published on September 29, 2021, updated April 14, 2023
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It's almost peak season on Amazon and there is so much for sellers to think about! Have you ordered enough inventory? What will you do if you have excess inventory that does not sell? Is your repricing strategy competitive enough for Q4? What is your plan for handling holiday returns? How do you forecast for Q1 with seasonality changes?
We partnered with industry experts from Project Verte and Seller Snap to offer guidance on these topics and more. Watch the webinar recording to learn:
Don't miss the special offers at the end of the webinar!
Are you ready for peak season? Even if you’re already planning, it’s never too early to improve your strategy. You never know what fourth quarter challenges you may face, especially during a pandemic, so it’s always best to be prepared!
For this engaging webinar hosted by Colleen Quattlebaum, we partnered with industry experts Eli Engelberg from Seller Snap and Stephen Bullard from Project Verte to share how to take advantage of this busy selling period. Before you settle in to watch, here’s a quick recap of what to expect!
It’s not your imagination. Competition during Q4 is especially fierce. “The same things happen — sellers come in and leave, sellers run out of stock — but the frequency of this happening is just much higher,” said Engelberg. “You’ll see changes within days. Something you’ve been selling well might completely change in a matter of a day or two.” A simple repricing rule might do the trick at any other time of year, but during Q4 it's important to have an automated solution.
Why? As Engelberg explained, you need to respond quickly — but appropriately. If you’re competing against FBA sellers that go into backorder, knowing when to reprice will give you an advantage if you have fulfillable stock. At the same time, you don’t want to be too aggressive, especially when competing against new sellers who may have priced their items too low. The right tool can help you maximize your profit while keeping a reasonable Buy Box share.
In the fourth quarter, sales typically increase but sellers run into replenishment and inventory cap issues. What can sellers do to avoid running out of stock? One strategy is to have two listings — an FBA listing and an FBM listing as a backup. Both can be active but it’s important to prioritize.
“As long as your FBA listing is fulfillable and competitive, that’s the one you should try to get Buy Box share with,” Engelberg noted. “When it becomes back-ordered or out of stock, the FBM listing gets priority and will start repricing competitively until you’re able to replenish in Amazon.” You could also reprice to slow down sales so that you continue making money without running out of stock.
You can support FBA while creating value with the same inventory in other demand channels by leveraging an independent third-party network. It can be advantageous to leverage your inventory across multiple channels out of a single facility or distribution network.
“The idea is that you can bring your same inventory that’s being gated by Amazon, while it’s sitting there being prepped to be sent to Amazon to support FBA,” explained Bullard. “It could be used for FBM...or it can be opened up to other demand channels out there including Walmart, Target, and Shopify.” You can generate more sales by leveraging that same inventory.
There are a lot of seasonality changes between Q4 and the following first quarter, which can make forecasting for Q1 a challenge. Even though things are busy during peak season, Bullard stressed that you can’t wait until it’s over to start planning for the next selling period. You need to have a plan.
Selling in a post-COVID world has made forecasting more complicated. “Historically, I know that we’ve all looked at fourth quarter and get singularly focused on getting through peak. The reality is that in the new retail environment...there are new peaks that we’re seeing across the board. The days of getting through fourth and then looking at first are over,” he said.
We’ve barely scratched the surface with this brief recap, so you definitely don’t want to miss the full webinar experience! The pandemic has changed the online marketplace, and successful sellers understand the need to adapt. It's important to find the right balance, but being prepared can help you survive the waves of uncertainty that we've all seen in the supply chain.
This short webinar can provide the insight and guidance you need to get ready for Q1. Things are more competitive than ever, so there’s no time to wait. Plus, stick around to hear how they answered some great questions from other sellers.
Originally published on September 29, 2021, updated April 14, 2023
This post is accurate as of the date of publication. Some features and information may have changed due to product updates or Amazon policy changes.
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