3 Easy Strategies to Drive Amazon Sales During the Holidays

Both sellers on Amazon and shoppers can sometimes be alike in one peculiar way. When it comes to preparing for the holidays, many find out that the last minute occurred months earlier than they expected.

If you’re in the former category, you’re probably aware that the holiday season can be just as naughty as it can be nice. The busy season brings a surge in consumer spending and attracts many shoppers to Amazon, making it a crucial time for sellers.

Yes, you can count on seeing some uptick on sales. You can also count on the inevitable increase in holiday peak fulfillment fees in FBA. Yes, that sales increase can lead to long term customer loyalty. But it can also mean a return rate as high as 21%—a nasty little pill that sellers have no other choice than to swallow. Additionally, increased competition among sellers during the holiday period means you need to be even more strategic to stand out.

Hopefully, you’re shrewd enough to have taken advantage of preparing your Amazon storefront months before the holiday season. Major shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday present key opportunities to maximize your sales during this period. Participating in Amazon Deal Programs during these events can drive significant sales, making them a must for sellers looking to capitalize on the holiday rush. But in case you haven’t, here are some last minute tips that can help you make the most out of your holiday sales.

Reimagine Your Amazon Keyword Strategy

That goes for your keyword pool, as well. There’s a long-standing rule in marketing called the Pareto, or, 80/20 rule which indicates that 80% of your outcome will come from 20% of your causes. And that’s just as applicable to keywords.

When optimizing your keyword strategy, it's also crucial to plan and manage your advertising campaigns strategically during the holidays. Proper budgeting, scheduling, and performance monitoring of these campaigns can help maximize your visibility and sales during peak shopping events.

Which should narrow down your Amazon PPC bidding strategy, right?

Unless you waited until the last minute, that is.

As customer traffic increases during the holidays, so will the cost of PPC bids—a factor that’s far from friendly for your Q4 budget. However, this increased traffic presents an opportunity for more sales if your strategies are properly implemented. You can still optimize your keyword strategy on Amazon in three easy steps:

• Analyze the most search term reports to identify only the most high-performing and relevant keywords

• Test variations, including long-tail and negative keywords, to improve targeting

• Refine and fine tune your keyword pool and advertising efforts regularly by monitoring performance metrics

• Utilize Amazon's Dynamic bids setting to allow the algorithm to adjust bids for higher-converting placements

Additionally, make sure to optimize listings to maximize visibility and conversions during the holiday season. Incorporating gift-related terms into product titles and descriptions is essential for holiday marketing, as it helps attract shoppers looking for the perfect presents.

Revise Your A+ Content for the Holiday Season

A+ content on Amazon doesn’t just showcase your product. And it doesn’t just tell your story. It tells a general story—a story as nuanced, sentimental or nostalgic as you want it to be. And it’s one of the best ways to stand out from your competitors by exercising your creativity.

Sometimes that can be as simple as replacing your main image with one more in touch with the holidays. Other times, you may want to create seasonal video content. No matter what you do, ask yourself three questions.

Have you taken the time to analyze your competitors’ A+ content? Are your images up to date, well focused and perhaps even a little festive? Is your copywriting clear, concise, informative and easy to understand?

Revising A+ content doesn’t have to be arduous. But it does take time to develop a winning strategy, particularly during the holidays. Consider highlighting exclusive discounts and prime exclusive discounts on your product pages to attract holiday shoppers. There’s always a chance that what worked for you last year will work again. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

The key elements of successful A+ content are flexibility and creativity. The holidays are about having fun, not necessarily about maximizing sales (although that should never be ignored!). Use your A+ content to promote great deals and lightning deals to create urgency and stand out. Be original. Be daring. Be adaptive. But above all, don’t stress yourself too much.

Effective A+ content can help you attract new customers and encourage repeat customers during the holiday season. You always have next season to think of.

Be Social

Want to know why your social media feed is suddenly inundated with more advertisements than normal during the holidays?

It’s one of the most inexpensive, highly populated and effective ways of driving traffic to your website or store. Many shoppers use social media to find the best deals during the holidays, making it a crucial channel for brands looking to attract price-sensitive customers.

But just how effective is it?

• According to data from the Pew Research Center, 84% of users have indicated social media plays a significant role in their online purchases

• A 2023 study conducted by Google and Ipsos revealed that 65% of holiday shoppers use social media platforms, with 59% turning to top online marketplaces

• 45 percent of Pinterest users plan for the holidays at least 60 days prior, compared to 21 percent of the general population

• Promoting your products during seasonal events can significantly maximize your reach and engagement

Leveraging Prime Big Deal Days is also a key opportunity to promote your products on social media and boost sales at the start of the holiday shopping season.

We’re not suggesting you rely on social media as your sole digital marketing platform during the holidays. But it’s becoming more and more of a necessity as it’s becoming the dominant exchange of information in 2024 and beyond.

The key to social media is engagement. That doesn’t mean just garnering more likes, but literally engaging with your audience. Paid ads can and do help—sometimes by as much as 61%. But if you’re coming across as distant and unapproachable, don’t be surprised if your customers answer in kind.

(And yes: that includes running exclusive promotions on Amazon, as well.) Social media can help grow your Amazon business by reaching new audiences and driving sales, especially during peak shopping periods.

Inventory Management for Amazon Sellers

If there’s one thing that can make or break your holiday sales on Amazon, it’s inventory management. The holiday season brings a surge of eager shoppers, and nothing frustrates them—or you—more than seeing “out of stock” on your best selling products. On the flip side, overstocking can lead to hefty storage fees and unsold inventory long after the holiday rush is over.

Smart Amazon sellers know that forecasting demand is the first step to seasonal success. Dive into your historical sales data, analyze recent growth, and pay close attention to shopping trends from previous peak shopping seasons. Don’t forget to factor in new product launches or changes in consumer behavior that could impact demand this year.

To stay ahead of the holiday traffic, make sure your inventory arrives at Amazon warehouses well before the high traffic days hit. Shipping delays are common during the holiday period, so early planning is your best defense. Consider balancing your FBA and FBM inventory to reduce risk—if one channel faces delays, the other can help you keep sales flowing. Effective inventory management prevents stockouts during peak seasons, ensuring you can meet customer demand without interruptions.

Dynamic pricing tools can also be a game-changer. Adjust your prices in real time based on competitor activity, demand spikes, and your own stock levels to maximize profit margins and avoid losing sales to other retailers.

By fine-tuning your inventory management strategy, you’ll minimize storage fees, reduce the risk of shipping delays, and ensure you’re ready to capture every sale during the busiest shopping events of the year.

Measuring Success on Amazon

The holiday shopping season is a whirlwind, but the only way to know if your efforts are paying off is to measure your success. For Amazon sellers, tracking the right metrics is essential—not just for the holiday period, but for driving future sales and long-term growth.

Start by monitoring your sales volume and conversion rates to see how your product listings are performing during peak shopping events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Keep a close eye on your advertising ROI, especially if you’re running PPC campaigns or leveraging Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands. These insights can help you optimize your ad strategies and marketing campaigns in real time.

Inventory levels are another key metric—running out of stock during high traffic shopping events can mean lost sales and disappointed holiday shoppers. Regularly review your account health, search results rankings, and customer feedback to spot any issues before they impact your holiday revenue. Positive reviews and a healthy account status can boost your visibility and attract more customers, while negative reviews or unresolved customer inquiries can quickly derail your seasonal sales.

Don’t overlook the power of your Amazon Brand Store. Use it to gather valuable insights into consumer behavior, track which products are driving the most traffic, and identify opportunities to increase your average order value. By analyzing these data points, you can refine your strategies, respond to shopping trends, and set yourself up for even greater success in future sales cycles.

In short, measuring your performance isn’t just about celebrating wins—it’s about learning, adapting, and making every holiday season better than the last.

Give Yourself a Breather

Yes, Q4 can be as stressful for sellers as it can be for shoppers. And yes, the holidays can make or break your sales. In Q4 2023, Amazon's revenue hit $169.96 billion, which was 14% higher than Q4 2022, highlighting the immense potential of this period for sellers.

But it’s not the sole focal point of your business.

Your business is to provide your customers with a solution for their needs. While the holidays give you the best opportunity to showcase that solution, there’s 364 odd days left in the calendar year you should be thinking about, as well.

That doesn’t mean sleeping through the holidays. That means improving your product. That means consistently innovating and constantly striving to give your customers a better product. Ongoing inventory planning and preparing for each peak shopping season are also essential to ensure you’re ready for every sales opportunity throughout the year. Because no one likes sleeping in during the holidays.

Make the most out of your sales on Amazon 365 days out of the year. Find out more at Color More Lines