Discounts on Amazon are an excellent tactic to appear in search ranks and are also great to boost sales. Therefore, as a seller, Amazon Lighting Deals can be your best allies.
But lowering your prices cannot be taken lightly. Overdoing it could lead to significant losses. So, how many discount items can you sell before calling it a day?
One good option is to set up Amazon Lightning Deals. These are time-limited promotions that are only active for a few hours.
This is a great deal for Amazon customers. Yet, some brands may wonder what’s in it for them.
If you want to know how to take advantage of these deals, keep reading!
What are Amazon Lightning Deals?
Amazon Lightning Deals are paid promotions through which sellers can offer great discounts on specific items. They are featured on ‘Today’s deals’ page.
This interesting form of discounts are run by the thousands every day. However, they do become Prime-member exclusive offers during Amazon Prime Day.
Customers can find great discounts in many categories, such as electronics, power tools, clothing, home appliances, and many more.
Here’s what customers see when lightning deals are active:
Image: Amazon (Deals and Promotions page)
- Featured items with available variations (such as size or color)
- The current discount and final price (excluding tax)
- mount of deals claimed
- A counter marking the time left to claim the deal
- The Add to Cart button
- A ‘Join Waitlist’ button, in case all deals are held by other users
Each lightning deal is limited to one per customer, and also per seller. It can last from 4 to 12 hours, or until all products are claimed.
Users can also visit the ‘Upcoming Deals’ section in ‘Today’s Deals’ page. Here, they can review all lighting deals 24 hours before they activate.
Plus, customers can set up a ‘Watch this Deal’ notification to buy the product once it’s available. This is also an awesome tool for sellers to attract potential followers in the near-future.
How to Apply for Amazon Lightning Deals
Let’s review the requirements for eligibility. Both sellers and individual ASINs must meet specific requisites to apply for lightning deals:
Seller Requirements
- You must be an Amazon Professional Seller. Individual sellers are not eligible for Amazon Lightning Deals. Plus, only brands with a 5 rating (per month) can apply.
- Hold a 3.5-star seller rating. Seller feedback evaluates the quality and speed of packaging, service quality, and fulfillment. It’s based on reviews, feedback and ratings.
If your rating is below 3.5, you’ll have to improve your customer experience before applying to lightning deals.
Product Requirements
- ASIN Approval. Alcoholic beverages are not eligible for lightning deals, for example. Make sure the item is not restricted, nor deemed offensive or inappropriate by Amazon. You can check the ‘Advertising’ tab in Seller Central to review products eligible for lightning deals.
- Hold a 3-star rating. Plus, the item must be eligible for Amazon Prime shipment in all regions.
- Ample storage. Brands must have more than 20 available units in the warehouse, before the sale starts. Amazon may cancel the deal if it deems you have insufficient inventory to meet demand.
- Offer variants. The marketplace requires you to offer several item variants (if available) to give customers a choice of purchase.
- Promote new products. Amazon Lighting Deals does not accept used products. Plus, you can’t overlap two campaigns that promote the same item.
- Reduce price by 15% (at least). You must also undercut the lowest selling price of the previous month by 5%
There are extra product conditions to meet for Prime Day lightning deals:
- Reduce price by 20% (at least). During Prime Day, sellers need to undercut the lowest selling price of the past month by 10%
- Year-long lowest price. The lightning deal must feature the lowest selling price of the year.
- Hold a 3.5-star rating. Plus, you must comply with Amazon’s guidelines for product presentations.
How to Set Up Amazon Lightning Deals
What’s your opinion so far? Do you think Amazon Lightning Deals can give you the boost your business needs?
Let’s say you’ve met all the previous requisites. Now, we’ll tell you how to create your very own lightning deal. Here’s what you can do:
- Log into Seller Central. Then, go to the ‘Advertising ‘ tab and click on the ‘Create a new deal’ button.
- Select the item to promote. This will take you to the lightning deals dashboard. Here, you’ll submit all relevant information for the deal.
- Choose a time frame. As a seller, you can propose a date to stage the deal. But only Amazon can set the exact time each lightning deal runs.
- Set the deal. Submit the deal price, along with item quantities and variations.
That’s all! Now, you’ll go to the overview page. There, you can check the deal’s details, before submitting it to Amazon.
Monitoring
Once you’ve sent the deal for review, you can go back to the dashboard and review the status of your lightning deal. Here’s some data you can check:
- Draft. The lighting deal has not been submitted yet.
- Audited. Amazon Staff is reviewing your proposal.
- Editing Required. You need to readjust the lightning deal, and submit again.
- Declined. Amazon rejected the deal proposal.
- Upcoming. The deal is approved, and Amazon sets a date and time to publish the lightning deal.
- Hidden. A deal was deactivated. A common reason for this is that the product is unavailable.
- Active. The lighting deal is currently running.
- Finished. The deal is no longer active.
- Cancelled. The lightning deal was cancelled by the seller. There is no fee charged if the deal is removed up to 25 hours before launch.
Note: Greyed-out ASINs indicate an item does not meet Amazon Lightning Deals requirements.
The Costs
This may be the most off-putting requirement for sellers. Amazon requests a $150.00 fee to run a lightning deal.
Note that the fee is not affected by product price, quantity or performance. Yet, the rate does vary depending on seasonality, demand, and special events.
You can see the fee by the ‘Submit’button, when you’re about to request a lightning deal. Amazon will deduct this charge automatically, after the deal runs in the marketplace.
Perhaps lightning deals cost can reduce profit, or be out of reach for some sellers. But you’ve got to consider the endgame.
Sometimes, a small sacrifice to revenue can boost your long-term revenue.
Are Amazon Lightning Deals Worth Buying?
Lightning deals grant sellers a unique opportunity to drive sales and boost visibility. It’s a great tool to earn the coveted Amazon Best Seller badge.
But why not just stick to the usual promotion strategies? Well, Amazon Lightning Deals go beyond increasing sales. Just look at some of its benefits:
Visibility and Ranking
‘Today’s Deals’ is one of Amazon’s most visited pages. Therefore, Lighting Deals make your items more visible from the start.
Special promotions attract new customers. One lightning deal could attract an influx of buyers to your listing. And some may want to go deeper into your store.
Each lightning sale will give you a boost to scale up the Amazon search ranks. That means more consumers will see your products in the long run.
Inventory Balance
Excess inventory means long-term losses. That’s why sellers always try to remove stagnant stock, while making a profit in the process.
Amazon Lightning Deals are excellent tools to dispose of overstocks. You’ll free up space in the warehouse, and avoid long-term storage fees.
Promote New Products
Sometimes it’s hard to tell if a new item will make it big on Amazon. First off, sellers must invest in visibility, and then wait for the market to give you some feedback.
You could boost the process with Amazon Lightning Deals. Place the product in front of many users for a short time. They’ll have a chance to know the new offer, and test it.
If the new listing hits the mark, some customers will return with positive reviews. All this will boost your Amazon rank and rep even further.
The Halo Effect
Exposition is the endgame. Not all buyers will take a lightning deal, but they’ll discover your brand.
One lightning deal is enough to open your catalog to many users. And if customers find something they like, they’ll come back even after the deal is over.
Final Thoughts
Customers always explore amazon for the best offers. And Amazon Lightning Deals are amongst the lowest prices in the marketplace.
So, holding an Amazon Lighting Deal could prove a turning point to boost brand awareness and customer delight.
There are both perks and drawbacks to review, of course. Perhaps, after giving it some serious thought you realize that Lightning Deals are not for you.
But if you want to try something different, give it a try Remember, sometimes it is wise to sacrifice profitability in order to reap greater benefits in the future, and this applies to Amazon as well.
Author
Esteban Muñoz is an SEO copywriter at AMZ Advisers, with several years’ experience in digital marketing and e-commerce. Esteban and the AMZ Advisers team have been able to achieve incredible growth on the Amazon platform for their clients by optimizing and managing their accounts and creating in-depth content marketing strategies.
