Valentine’s Day

Sunday, February 14

As the pandemic charges on, online gift shopping will continue to see significant growth. Don’t forget to add a treat for your own sweetheart to your cart! 

Easter

Sunday, April 4

Historically, sales spike over the Easter period – thanks, Easter Bunny. Most Americans observe the holiday and typically scoop up gifts for family and friends. 

Summer Break 

For two and a half months, students and families are searching for deals to make their time off more fun – queue your holiday playlist. From travel gear to beach supplies, sales across categories increase. 

Amazon Prime Day

The Super Bowl of Amazon sellers – need we say more? Make the most of these two days of crazy volume in mid-July by wowing your customers with great deals. 

Thanksgiving

Thursday, November 25

A golden opportunity to drive sales in the lead up to Black Friday. The goal: extend your sales spike. 

Black Friday

Friday, November 26 

The biggest shopping day of the year = your biggest opportunity to drive sales and boost your brand. The competition can be tough, so offer unbeatable deals to maximize your gains. 

Cyber Monday

Monday, November 29

Treat Cyber Monday and Black Friday as one big selling frenzy. Customers search for – and expect – great deals on both days and the weekend in between. 

Christmas

Saturday, December 25 

Typically, online retail soars up until the 17th of November when Christmas sales start to wind down. If planned correctly, sales leading up to Thanksgiving can give your brand a big enough rank boost to drive breaking sales from Black Friday all the way through Christmas.

Winter Sale 

If your product range is seasonal, sales are a perfect way to clear winter stock and free up cash flow for Summer inventory. 

Many shoppers hold out for seasonal sales. It’s the perfect opportunity to ‘extend’ your season by promoting your slower moving winter items. Hook your customers with great deals in January when they start shopping for themselves again.

You highlighted the dates in your calendar. Now what?

Inventory planning

‍Planning and control is the most critical part of your business. Without stock, you cannot sell. Yet too much stock will kill you. Finding the correct balance is the key to a seller’s success. 

Here’s our ultimate inventory planning checklist: 

• Historical Data: Historical sales trends give you a great starting point. Analyze them closely before planning ahead.
• Market trends: Consider how the market has evolved. Is your product still relevant in 2021 or do you need to innovate?
• Lead time: Know your suppliers and understand their limitations – especially lead times. Build in enough safety to limit potential stock shortages.
• Supply chain risks: Prepare for supply chain downtime such a Chinese New Year delays, congestion at the ports over during major holidays, etc.
• Cash flow: Do you have enough cash to achieve your goals? If not, plan early and arrange financing sooner rather than later. 
• Quality control: Engage in strict quality checks before your product ships to FBA. Selling defective products to customers and receiving negative reviews could ruin your business forever.

Listing optimization

‍Optimize every part of your listing and consider updating it for timeliness. Low lift updates such as adding festive images to your gallery can boost conversion during seasonal moments. 

Stock limits at FBA

Amazon enforces strict stock limits on sellers during peak season. If you do not plan ahead, you may get caught with stock in transit. Try these strategies: 

• Pre-load Amazon Fulfillment Centers with as much stock as possible before peak season hits and limits are enforced.
• Send in replenishment stock on a daily basis – you don’t know how long it will take for Amazon to receive it.
• Turn to FMB and fulfill directly to your customer. This is generally more expensive, but at least you won't lose sales – and your hard earned organic rank. 

Pricing Strategy

‍Know your margins well and be prepared to react to competitors or customers’ buying patterns with price adjustments if necessary. To get started, check out this guide on dynamic pricing from Profasee.

Advertising Strategy

‍If you get this right, you could see unbelievable sales results on your peak sales events. Our advice: 

• Start advertising early to steadily optimize and boost your ranking on strategic keywords in the build up to major events – your goal is to enter sales with the highest organic rank possible. Advertising on high traffic days can get extremely expensive. 
• Advertise relevant category terms to attract new customers.
• Run discount coupons on your products to drive conversion for both new and returning customers

The Takeaway: Actively plan for the things you can control. We’re here to provide guidance as you strategize.