Key points
- The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many changes on Amazon, and sellers continue to feel its effects in 2021.
- While the number of sales made on Amazon grew significantly over 2020 and 2021, the competition on the platform has also become incredibly fierce, making it hard for new brands to secure their place on Amazon.
- This makes it essential for sellers to keep up with current Amazon trends.
- Some of the most influential changes on Amazon in 2021 include stock limitations for FBA sellers and the increasing popularity of organic videos and video ads. Plus, more people are using their smartphones to show, forcing marketers to adapt, and it’s also becoming harder for sellers to remain competitive without using A+ Content.
Ever since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Amazon e-commerce sales have exploded in numbers. In 2020, the company’s sales reached an unprecedented $309 billion. Looking at these numbers, it’s not surprising that more and more sellers and customers are joining the platform every day. And if you want to stay relevant among the growing competition, you need to keep up with the trends and understand the changes that are happening on the platform every day. So here’s our lineup of the most important Amazon trends in 2021, which are no doubt going to continue in 2022.
More people are shopping on their phones
Each year the proportion of people who browse Amazon using their smartphones increases. This means you have to consider those shoppers when optimizing your product listings and creating sponsored ads. Make sure that people who stumble upon your ads or product listings can see all the important information on their smartphone screen without needing to take further actions.
Stock limitations for FBA sellers
With the number of Amazon sellers constantly increasing, Amazon’s FBA program is booming in popularity. This means more and more people are shipping their products to Amazon’s warehouse for storage and processing. This created a shortage of warehouse space that caused Amazon to restrict the amount of stock sellers can ship to Amazon at the end of 2020. Unfortunately, the marketplace is not expected to lift these restrictions any time soon. You have several ways to deal with the situation:
- Fulfill the orders yourself under the FBM program or use third-party logistics companies.
- Raise your prices to decrease the number of items you sell without hurting your profits.
- Let your products go out of stock but anticipate when it happens and be ready to ship new stock to Amazon.
- Try selling bundles that have different quantities of the same products.
- Shop running ads on products that are about to be out of stock.
Being in the top 10 search results is no longer enough
While in the past, you could get a significant amount of organic traffic and sales if your products ranked in the top 10 search results on Amazon, today, this is not the case. The e-commerce platform continues to set away more and more space for sponsored products, video ads, Amazon Choice products, etc. As a result, sellers need to rank in the top 5 search results to get a fair amount of organic exposure.
Video content and ads will become essential
Did you know that Amazon users who watch videos on the platform are more than three times more likely to purchase the product than customers who don’t? This makes video ads a much better choice than conventional text and image-based advertisements. Using videos in your product listings will also help you attract attention to your products and significantly increase sales. Interestingly, different video styles produce different results. For example, lifestyle videos result in a higher conversion rate than animated videos.
Don’t limit your business to Amazon
Everyone knows that Amazon outperforms all of its e-commerce competitors by a huge margin. However, this doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to selling only on Amazon, especially as the competition on the platform continues to increase. Whether you’re investing in the stock market or building a business, diversification is key. This is why you should consider expanding your operations to eBay, Walmart, social media platforms, and other e-commerce websites to ensure that you’re getting customers from as many sources as possible.
You have to be on social media
Social media presence is no longer optional for brands. No matter how small or new your company is, you have to have active social media pages on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other platforms relevant to your products. Your social media audience can become an excellent source of external traffic that can help boost your Amazon listings. Influencer marketing is also incredibly effective, and the best thing about it is that you don’t need to pay huge prices set by influencers with millions of followers. A much more effective strategy is to seek out small influencers with loyal audiences, as their ads usually have much better results despite their low cost.
Top categories to branch out into
If you’re looking to add more products to your selection and don’t know which niches to tackle, this section is for you. Here are several categories that are expected to continue growing in 2021 and 2022.
- Home improvement – home improvement projects are more popular than ever before, especially as many people continue to work remotely and spend a lot more time at home.
- Gardening – gardening is growing in popularity as a hobby, especially among well-paid Americans with significant disposable income.
- Home and kitchen – home organization is very trendy today, so if you’re considering starting to sell products in this category, there couldn’t be a better time.
- Beauty and personal care – this category has been growing for a while, and there are no signs of it slowing down.
- Pet supplies – a huge number of people adopted pets during the pandemic. Plus, global pet spending has been increasing for many years, so now is a good time to branch out into this niche.
- Baby – even though the post-pandemic baby boom didn’t live up to the expectations, this category is still experiencing significant growth.
Create a storefront and use A+ content
If you want to maximize your profits on Amazon and truly expand your business, you need to develop an authentic brand. People no longer want to buy products from faceless sellers who source their inventory from China and resell it at a profit. Instead, they are looking for personality and authenticity. This is why joining the Brand Registry program, creating a Storefront, and starting to utilize A+ Content is so crucial for anyone who wants to remain relevant in 2022.
Final thoughts
Building a successful business on Amazon requires a lot of time, dedication, and effort. You need to learn a lot of new skills and constantly stay on top of changes in the marketplace. If you want to build a strong brand and overcome the competition, we strongly suggest hiring an Amazon consulting agency. Schedule a free discovery call with Nuoptima’s top Amazon experts to find out how we can help your business grow.