Yes, surging holiday search traffic and a surplus of shopper spending mean the Amazon marketplace experiences a dramatic boost in sales during these times. But for the average seller, this is not a guarantee. There are nearly 2 million third-party sellers on Amazon ranging from all sizes competing for the same clicks. In the spirit of data and a holly jolly selling experience, Helium 10 is bringing entrepreneurs a brand new report stuffed with insights and hand-breaded with holiday selling strategies.
Looking for the full-length data summary? Download the report here.
Simply want a taste? Keep reading!
Did you miss the last one? Check out the COVID-19 analysis here, where we covered what two years of Amazon search traffic looks like during a global pandemic.
This newly-released seasonality report walks you through the following:
- How to optimize your PPC strategies early to capitalize on Q4 keywords.
- Reframing your product for holiday demand– even if your product isn’t a “traditional holiday” product.
- The things you should be doing now (inventory prep, ad campaigns, and keyword research) in order to profit later.
Halloween is Getting Bigger Than Ever
Consumer Halloween spending was up over $2 billion in 2021, compared to 2020. As the world has begun to take more control of the COVID-19 pandemic through widespread vaccinations, it’s no surprise that the spooky season shopping is on the rebound. But it’s not just the return of Halloween search demand on Amazon that caught our eye, it’s how early the demand is beginning to show up.
In fact, Halloween 2021 started seeing significant search traffic begin to surge an entire month earlier than the surge from two years prior.
We are predicting that Halloween 2022 is going to be huge, both in pent-up demand and peak popularity.
What should you be doing? Start preparing!
Want the full look at Halloween keyword demand (including specific timeframes?)
Open the Seasonality Report here!
Black Friday is Just The Beginning
It’s not all about camping out in front of your favorite brick n’ mortar store anymore. Amazon.com has been growing for almost three decades and the world is recovering from a global pandemic that forced life even more online than it already was.
Black Friday 2021 (Thanksgiving plus Black Friday) raked in $14.04 billion in online sales. $8.9 billion was spent on Black Friday and $5.14 billion was spent on Thanksgiving, which is only a 6.3% decrease from 2020.
Adapting For Christmas
E-commerce is a world in which constant expansion is a must. Especially during the holiday seasons. Keywords are a great place to start.
Go through your current product list and determine which items can be marketed as “stocking stuffers”, “Christmas gifts for him/her”, “Holiday gift ideas”, or “Hanukkah gift ideas”. Remember, your product can live in more than one niche, depending entirely on the context it’s purchased in!
Standing out from the crowd is key.
You don’t have to sell the biggest ticket holiday product to see your sales increase in Q4— instead, focus on low-cost items that can be marketed as “stocking stuffers.” Avoid getting stuck in a high-cost, high competition pool, unless you are sure you can rule the niche. Many sellers are better off simply being the bigger fish in a smaller pond.
All Your Rankings, All At Once
No more juggling multiple browser tabs! Keyword Tracker is now integrated with Adtomic, allowing you to quickly see search volume, organic rank, and sponsored rank in the same place. Take advantage of your Helium 10 tools to help you bridge the gap between your product listings and the upcoming holiday season.
Wrapping up: Seasonality Means Opportunity
Halloween, Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Chanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas. Q4 has always been an online shopping frenzy for buyers and a gauntlet of seasonal planning for sellers. And that was before a global pandemic made our wifi connections a necessity, rather than a luxury.
Now more than ever, the world relies on the e-commerce marketplace.
Holiday Best Practices
- Think outside the holiday gift box. Market your smaller-sized products with “stocking stuffer” keywords, even if the item isn’t specific to a holiday.
- Think ahead. Remember to raise your bids on “stocking stuffers” by 50% the week prior to Black Friday.
- Take advantage of the Helium 10 Chrome Extension by identifying strong Q4 products that also have year-around selling potential.
- Don’t overthink your price point. Focus on low-cost products instead of the usual, seasonal heavyweights.
- Don’t neglect Halloween! Use conservative bids until October 7th and raise your bids by 20-50% starting in mid-October.
