Amazon lightning deals catch people’s eyes and make them eager to jump right into your products. These ads are an effective way to get in front of more customers and, even if that means lowering profits for a short time.
However, as with any marketing strategy, lowering your prices cannot be taken lightly. Overdoing it without the right approach could do more harm than good. Yet, some brands may wonder what’s in it for them.
So, how can you use lightning discounts in the most strategic way?
What are Amazon Lightning Deals?
Amazon Lightning Deals are time-limited promotions that are only active for a few hours. Lightning deals on Amazon are a great deal for customers, and they are a pretty simple tactic that can help you scale your ads and marketing strategy.
This interesting form of discounts are run by the thousands every day. Customers can find great discounts in many categories, such as home and kitchen, electronics, power tools, clothing, and many more. Plus, these offers become Prime lightning deals during Amazon Prime Day.
How Do Amazon Lightning Deals Work?
As a seller, you can submit your products for lightning deals through Amazon Seller Central. Once approved, your deal will appear on Today’s Deals page.
Shoppers will see your product at a discounted price for a limited time. It can last from 4 to 12 hours, or until the allotted stock sells out. Here’s what customers see when lightning deals are active:
- Featured items with available variations
- Current discount and final price (excluding tax)
- Amount of deals claimed
- Time counter marking the time left to claim the deal
- Add to Cart button
- ‘Join Waitlist’ button, in case all current deals are already claimed
Users can also visit the ‘Upcoming Deals’ section in ‘Today’s Deals.’ 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.
Who Can Access Amazon Lightning Deals?
Any seller with a Professional selling plan can submit products for Lightning Deals, provided you meet the following criteria:
- Meet Amazon’s performance standards, including low order defect rates and high customer satisfaction.
- Seller feedback over 3.5. This depends on the quality and speed of packaging, service quality, and fulfillment. It’s based on customer reviews and ratings.
- Pay the deal’s fees which vary based on the offer’s timing and duration.
These are the seller requirements, but you must also keep track of specific product requirements:
- ASIN Approval. Restricted items are not eligible for lightning deals. You can check the ‘Advertising’ tab in Seller Central to see if your products are eligible.
- 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 variations. The marketplace requires you to offer several item variants (if available) to give customers a choice of purchase.
- New items. Amazon Lighting Deals does not accept used products. Plus, you can’t overlap two campaigns that promote the same item.
- 15% discount. You must also undercut the lowest selling price of the previous month by 5%
For Prime day lightning deals, sellers need to undercut the lowest selling price of the past month by 10% and the lightning deal must feature the lowest selling price of the year. 
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.
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 It?
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.
Lightning Deals is a great tool to earn the coveted Amazon Best Seller badge, since Each lightning deal will help you scale up the search ranks. That means more consumers will see your products in the long run.
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 Promotion
One of the primary benefits of a lightning deal is the increased visibility it provides. Products featured in these deals are prominently displayed by Amazon, attracting a large number of potential customers.
This heightened exposure can be particularly valuable for new or less well-known products, helping them gain traction in a competitive marketplace. ‘Today’s Deals’ is one of Amazon’s most visited pages. So, Lighting Deals make your items more visible from the start.
Inventory Balance
Excess inventory means long-term losses. That’s why sellers always try to remove dead stock while making a profit in the process. Lightning Deals are excellent tools to dispose of overstocks. You’ll free up space in the warehouse, and avoid long-term storage fees.
Product Launches
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.
Conversion Rates
Additionally, the urgency created by the limited-time nature of lightning deals encourages quick purchasing decisions. Shoppers are more likely to buy almost immediately, leading to a rapid increase in sales.
This can be especially useful for clearing out excess inventory or promoting seasonal items that need to sell quickly.
New Followers
Another advantage is the potential to attract Prime members, who often receive early access to Lightning Deals. This exclusive access can lead to higher sales, as Prime subscribers are among Amazon’s most active and loyal customers.
Reaching this dedicated customer base can result in more frequent purchases and repeat business.
Sales Volume
A successful lightning deal can generate a surge in sales volume, which can improve the product’s ranking in search results and product categories. Higher rankings make the product more visible to other shoppers even after the deal ends, leading to sustained sales growth.
Branding
Moreover, participating in Amazon Lightning Deals can help build brand awareness. Even if shoppers do not purchase the featured product, they become more familiar with the brand, which can influence future purchasing decisions.
This increased brand recognition can contribute to long-term business growth and customer loyalty. 
When Not to Use Amazon Lightning Deals
Amazon Lightning Deals can be a powerful tool for boosting sales and visibility. They are not always the best choice for every situation, however.
Low Inventory Levels
If you have limited stock of a product, running a Lightning Deal can quickly consume your inventory, leaving you unable to meet ongoing demand. This translates to lost sales and disappointed customers.
Before you even think about implementing a lightning deal on Amazon, make sure your stock levels can meet a growing demand in a short period of time. Otherwise, you will leave a lot of money on the table.
Slim Profit Margins
Lightning Deals require you to offer significant discounts and pay a fee to Amazon for running the promotion. If your profit margins are already thin, the cost of the deal and the reduced sale price might result in minimal or no profit.
Carefully calculate the potential return on investment before going for this method. If you have premium products, try to include those into your lightning deals to achieve profitable results that are worth the effort.
High-Performing Products
This might sound counterintuitive, but products that are already selling well at their current price may not benefit significantly from a lightning deal.
Offering a discount on items that are in high demand could unnecessarily cut into your profits without providing substantial growth. You can, instead, focus on products that need some kind of boost or that are at the higher price end.
Inadequate Preparation
Launching successful deals requires thorough preparation. If you’re unable to invest the necessary time and resources into preparing for the deal, it might not turn out as you want too. Make a list of all the requirements a lightning deal requires. For example:
- Appropriate customer support systems.
- Updated product information and listings.
- Ample inventory and shipping channels.
- Conversion and follow-up strategies.
Seasonal or Limited-Time Products
If your product is seasonal or has a limited sales window, Amazon Lightning Deals might not align with the optimal timing for your sales strategy. For example, running a deal on holiday decorations in the off-season might not attract enough buyers to justify the discount and fees.
Make sure the timing of your deal matches the peak demand period for your product, or otherwise you will not get the results you expect.
Low-Rated Products
71% of customers look at reviews before even deciding to buy something. If your product has low ratings or negative reviews, running a deal might not be effective in driving sales.
Focus on improving the product quality and increasing conversion rates before jumping into a Lightning Deal.
Final Thoughts
Customers always explore amazon for the best offers, and these offers are amongst the lowest prices in the marketplace. So, holding Amazon Lightning Deals today could prove a turning point to boost brand awareness and customer delight.
If you are looking for a way to gain more exposure and more clients coming in, even if that means lower profits in the short-term, then joining these deals can be surprisingly effective for you.
There are both perks and drawbacks to review, of course. If you choose to implement Amazon lightning deals, pay attention to your Amazon insights. You want to know whether it worked or not before making it a recurrent business task.
However, if you feel like your deals are already at the limit of profitability, then maybe lightning deals are not your best option.
But if you want to try something different, give it a try. Sometimes it is wise to sacrifice profitability in order to reap greater benefits in the future, and this applies to Amazon as well.
Authors
Esteban Muñoz ontent writer with several years’ experience in digital marketing and ecommerce. He’s been able to achieve incredible growth for his associates by optimizing and managing their accounts, and creating in-depth content marketing strategies.
Antonella Fleitas is a freelance content writer from Argentina. Antonella worked with many projects to create fact-based, evergreen content about science, language learning, and culture. Her main goal is to build a strong content foundation for her clients, based on meaningful stories that people can learn from.
