Amazon Summer Sale 2020: Overcoming Adversity

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The ‘early’ Amazon Summer Sale 2020 aims to bring back customers’ trust after the recent complaints in shipping delays and “to let brands sell excess inventory,” according to the New York Times.

As we all know, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented effect on the retail giant operations after the massive influx of customers placing orders for essential products online.

This has left non-essential brands on Amazon with tons of products in stock and with an evident economic downturn.


Amazon’s Response to Emerging Challenges

In light of the pandemic, the company decided to hire an additional 175,000 workforce to meet customer demand.

Also, it increased its hourly pay, providing flexible sick leave, and distributing personal protective equipment for employees.

The tech giant advised its sellers to consider using their Merchant Fulfilled Network Shipping (MFN) as an alternative to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).

Basically, to ease the burden on their fulfillment centers and allow sellers to take charge of their own inventory.

However, customer demands proved to be stronger and Amazon can only do so much to keep the situation under control.

Amazon customers started reporting delivery delays and five-day shipping or more for non-priority items. Due to this, some patrons started to consider other options to alleviate their online buying needs.

Target reported a whopping 141% increase in sales, while Walmart had a 74% boost in online shopping in this quarter. 


Prime Day Postponed

Prime Day

Amazon’s Prime Day, a two-day sales event that can rival Black Friday as the biggest day for shoppers, was pushed back to September because the company struggled to cater to the surge in demand.

During this annual event, introduced in 2015 as part of Amazon’s 20th-anniversary celebration, shoppers can expect the lowest prices on products, ranging from beauty, household items, gadgets, and more.

Despite these setbacks, the company seems to be getting back on track with their operations after announcing the Amazon Summer Sale 2020 to allow brands to sell their remaining inventory that may have piled up during the COVID-19 crisis.

This can also imply that the previous issues of delayed shipping may have been resolved, and Amazon is ready to take on the continuously rising demand of online shoppers. 

From a strategic standpoint, delaying the event can be a good thing for the company. This can certainly give them the breathing room to prepare all the workforce they will need for Prime Day.


Recommended: Will COVID-19 Pandemic Affect Amazon Prime Day 2020?


The Amazon Summer Sale 2020

The Summer Sale may not have the same impact as Prime Day, but it’s a move to bring back Amazon’s customers who have turned to other retailers. Although the date has not yet been confirmed, this event will allow Amazon to regain control and prevent other companies from monopolizing the market.

It is expected that for Amazon Summer Sale 2020 their original same-day or next-day deliveries will be brought back for customers.

Also, previous product restrictions will be waived since sellers who do not merchandise essential such as medical supplies and household basics have been affected.


Daily Deals

Deal of the Day

As part of their preparation for the sale, Amazon also brought back their page featuring the latest deals of the day.

Despite being heavily promoted on Amazon’s website and app, the number of visitors bringing high traffic to the page was becoming an additional nuisance to Amazon’s initial predicament of having too many shoppers and too little workforce.

This may be part of realigning their focus on the highly demanded products related to the pandemic. 

As for sellers, they can definitely take advantage of the newly returned Amazon deal page, especially if they are qualified for offers such as a Lightning Deal.

For those who are not familiar with this scheme, a Lightning Deal is a promotional offer granted by Amazon wherein an item will be advertised on Today’s Deals for a limited amount of time, which can range from 4 to 12 hours depending on Amazon. 

Customers are also aware of the time limit since it’s their basis on how long they can add the item to their cart and claim the featured discount.

This is extremely beneficial for sellers looking to increase their sales and shake off the remaining inventory.


Weekly Deals

Another great opportunity for sellers is the 7-Day Deal, where an item is featured on Today’s Deals for up to seven days.

Products featured will have a “limited time deal”, which can drive potential customers looking for time-bound promos to a seller’s Store.

To be eligible for both Lightning and 7-day Deals, the seller has to be a Professional Seller with a five-star Seller Feedback Rating per month.

An average rating of 3.5 stars is also required.

If a seller is interested in optimizing deals for their products, the following requirements should be met:

These deals will further increase the number of potential customers who visit a seller’s page, which is an important goal for the Summer Sale. More customers means more competition. That’s why it’s important for sellers to know how these can help enhance  their brand awareness.


Sponsored Brands

sponsored-brands

Aside from offering deals, Amazon offers a Sponsored Brands strategy to sellers to boost their visibility and sales.

This allows them to show up in search results, directing potential customers to their Store.

Utilizing the appropriate keywords or Search Terms can also be a great strategy to encourage customers to visit your Store.

These are quite handy if they are searching for items that fall in the same category as your products. Amazon provides a comprehensive guide on how to optimize these Search Terms, a must-see for every merchant.


Final Thoughts

There is still no definite dates for the Amazon Summer Sale 2020, but both sellers and customers will definitely need a heads up to plan accordingly.

This event might not be as huge as the postponed Prime Day, but Amazon’s great deals and promos are still worth checking once the Summer Sale rolls out. 

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