There are five trends surrounding Amazon that ecommerce businesses need to know, according to Josh Baltzell, co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Space Shop Commerce.

Have a Diverse Marketplace Strategy

Of course you should include the world’s largest marketplace, Amazon US, in your mix. And a robust marketing strategy will include other shopping platforms as well. You should expect to sell on your own website, so that you can develop a relationship with your own clients. Include retailer websites where you sell, and consider international sales, including Amazon.

Qualify for Prime

Statistic after statistic demonstrate that shoppers have a two-day shipping expectation now, with Amazon pushing the market to one-day and same-day. Unless you have a fleet of airplanes and trucks at the ready, Fulfillment By Amazon is the easiest, most-cost effective way for ecommerce merchants starting out to qualify for Prime status.

Plus, Amazon is controlling which merchants are visible, with a very publicly known favoritism for Prime merchants. If you’re not Prime, you’re invisible.

At eFulfillment Service, we work with many companies to make Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) as easy as possible, offering FBA Prep as a service. Amazon’s rules and regulations can be frustrating and mistakes can be costly. Keep in mind that Amazon will only want to store 90 days of sales volume, driving many companies to house larger inventories outside of Amazon. Meeting Amazon standards and providing inexpensive storage are only two of many reasons why using a professional FBA Prep service can save you money and headaches.

Develop Branded Experiences

Searching for your company’s brand on Amazon can be an eyeopening and challenging exercise. Many valuable brands discover that merchants are repackaging their products and delivering poor customer experiences, tarnishing the brand’s image. Questions posed by potential customers may get answered by other consumers and be wrong. And merchants listing your brand may not provide accurate information. Space Shop Commerce recommends using all the tools that Amazon provides to overcome these issues, take charge of your brand and develop the visibility on Amazon that your brand deserves.

The first step is to register your brand with Amazon and develop a storefront. Registration is free and it doesn’t take a lot of time, says Baltzell. Storefronts are one of the few places in the world of Amazon where a brand can develop a branded experience on the Amazon platform.

Baltzell encourages folks to think of product galleries as showcases. Think beyond several positions of the product package, and show photos of the product in use, an interesting detail or even provide images of the happy results of using the product.

Anticipate Alexa’s Coming Influence

Many of the experts talked about voice optimization. Currently, becoming a favorite product is a critical first step in the bulk on voice activated buying. Most people are using voice buying to re-purchase, so getting that initial purchase is happening on mobile or desktop. Baltzell’s advice here is to encourage marketers and ecommerce business people to get as much experience with Alexa and Echo devices as possible, so that you’re ready to work with voice activated buying. He also notes that products that are popular on Amazon are also going to be at the top of Alexa’s recommendation lists, because she will promote the products that are most likely going to make Amazon money.

Participate in Amazon Advertising

Finally, Baltzell notes that like Google, Amazon search results are offering up the paid ads first, and burying the natural search results at the bottom. He suggests that Sponsored Products are the most important ad type, and so ecommerce marketers should start there, experimenting with other types of ads, as well.

Success on Amazon means doing a number of things well, says Baltzell. He goes on to say that once you have momentum, sales will encourage more sales. Amazon likes success and promotes those that sell so that it makes more money, like a flywheel.

eFulfillment Service attended the Digital Summit in Detroit where we were able to hear many digital marketing and ecommerce experts like Josh Baltzell from Space Shop Commerce.

Other Blogs, Services & Articles
How to Retain Ecommerce Subscribers
Golf, FedEx & Ecommerce
eFulfillment Service Simplifies FBA Prep Pricing

Note: eFulfillment Service attended Digital Summit Detroit, and recommends the Digital Summit conference series for ecommerce companies looking to improve their marketing skills. We were especially pleased to attend the session “The Top 5 “Need to Know” Amazon Trends For Brand Marketers” We believe that learning how to use Amazon’s marketplace as effectively as possible is important. We hope by sharing what we learned, and encouraging our clients and audience to attend the next Digital Summit, that we will all improve our ecommerce skills and flourish.