What is Amazon Prime Day?

Everyone in America knows about Black Friday and Cyber Monday and has come to think of these ‘holidays’ as the two biggest shopping days of the year. In the past couple years, however, a new ‘holiday’ has taken the world by storm – Amazon Prime Day. This one-day online extravaganza sees hundreds of thousands of items go up for sale on the Amazon marketplace, and they’re all only available to Prime subscribers. Because Amazon has complete control over both the platform itself and the products on the site, it schedules the deals to hit at different times throughout the day, meaning consumers spend most of the day checking back in for new deals that have hit the site, increasing sales exponentially throughout the day.

After Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced there were over 100 million Prime subscribers, experts believe that 2018 Prime Day will break all records set previously. Sellers on Amazon have realized that with so many buyers checking in on the platform throughout the day, Prime Day is the perfect opportunity to hold their own sales and deals, adding to the overall spectacle of the day.

What Prime Day Means for Sellers

With an estimated $55 billion spent on Prime Day in 2017 (more than both Black Friday and Cyber Monday), 2018 looks to take its place as one of the largest shopping days on record. If you’re selling products on Amazon, this is the time to take advantage of Prime benefits. It is the case, however, that many Prime Day deals are set up to benefit either Amazon’s own house of brands or those sellers that leverage the Fulfilled by Amazon program.

Sellers that fulfill with FBA have a unique relationship with Amazon in that Amazon stores, packages, and ships a brand’s products all for a small fee. FBA sellers also get to take advantage of being eligible for Amazon Prime, meaning customers can receive their new products in just two days with free shipping. If you’re not leveraging the FBA program to fulfill your orders on Amazon, you won’t be eligible for Prime Day, which means missing out on an incredible revenue opportunity. For most sellers, the main reason behind not being part of FBA are the costs associated with the program. Nothing on Amazon is truly free (which is why it’s one of the most valuable companies in the world) and the FBA program is full of hidden fees and logistical challenges which makes it difficult for small and mid-size brands to compete.

If your brand wants to participate in this year’s Prime Day (and you should) but don’t want to worry about the logistical nightmare that is Fulfilled by Amazon, it’s time to look for a third party seller to manage that relationship for you. Third party sellers take full control over all Amazon relationship particulars, including shouldering the storage, shipping, and fulfillment fees that are associated with the program. Sellers are free to worry about pressing strategy and brand focus instead of worrying about the square footage of space in warehouses. Get your foot in the door this Prime Day with SupplyKick – learn more now!