Vendors snubbed by Amazon’s ordering system – it’s not me, it’s you
At Ideoclick, we work with hundreds of manufacturers on Amazon. This week, we’ve talked to many vendors who didn’t receive purchase orders on schedule. What does it mean? Is Amazon breaking up with you? Some are hurt and horrified. Others are happy, because they were totally ready to break up, like, two years ago, and be a seller instead.
Why “Share” is a totally BS metric on Amazon
If I had a dollar for every time I heard a client—mostly CPGs—talk about their “fair share” on Amazon, I’d be a very rich woman, sitting on a beach watching my three kids play in the sand, and not writing articles about Amazon and eCommerce. Today, we’ll explore why market share on Amazon is an almost meaningless metric and discuss what you should use instead.
Amazon’s Q3 earnings release is the most interesting in 2 years – and what it means for brands
If you’ve been sleeping under a rock this past week, you may have missed one of Amazon’s most interesting earnings release in a couple of years. Here are the three things you need to know.
Am I going to lose my Vendor Manager? What Amazon’s increasing move to self-service means for your brand.
Several brands have reached out to us in a panic this week after reading some recent news claiming that they would no longer have access to a Vendor Manager at Amazon. Here’s what you need to know.
Roundup: Hybrid Selling Accounts, Q4 Earnings, and Acquired Pillpack
ROUNDUP: Amazon announced their Q2 earnings, and the big story is that they posted their largest quarterly profit ($2.5B)…ever. Wall street is happy, as they’ve now been profitable for 13 straight quarters – thanks in large part to their ad business (growing at 100% Y/Y), AWS, and the “squeeze” they’ve been putting on all of you, manufacturers.
How to not get eaten alive during your annual Amazon negotiations
Check out my recent episode on the Jason & Scot show on Negotiating with Amazon. Also, next week, I’ll be speaking at ChannelAdvisor’s Catalyst conference in San Diego – hope to see some of you there!
Why Your Brand Should Care About Amazon’s Item-Level Economics (i.e, CRaP)
If you are a brand selling on Amazon through their retail channel, chances are you’ve heard about CRaP. CRaP is an acronym that stands for Can’t Realize any Profit, Amazon’s label for items that are structurally unprofitable for them to sell in their retail channel. In case it isn’t clear from the acronym, CRaP items are candidates for removal from Amazon’s retail channel. Here’s why this matters to your brand.
7 Things Brands Must do to Prepare for Q4 on Amazon
The fourth quarter of the year, starting October 1, is the largest selling season of the year on Amazon, with many of our clients driving up to 75% of their annual traffic and sales in three short months. It’s an incredible opportunity to grow share and increase your customer base! With that in mind, there are several “watch-outs” that can trip you up and dampen sales performance. Below you’ll find a list of best practices, tried and true across both our clients as well as brands I managed back in my Amazon days…
The Secret Behind Amazon’s Success Isn’t What You Think
Hint: It’s all about risk and reward! In 2005, I joined the ranks of a company called Amazon.com – a company that was, at that time, a retail underdog. Their stock price was laughable at $25/share (vs. nearly $1,000/share today), and their annual revenues definitely weren’t keeping Walmart up at night.
How Scrappy, Disruptive Brands are Stealing Market Share on Amazon
Both in my consulting practice and during my ten years at Amazon managing categories, I have repeatedly witnessed the remarkable rise of a certain type of brands to large, competitive players in their categories. The Grocery Manufacturer’s Association and BCG released a report that stated, “…brick-and-mortar market share and shelf-space prominence do not translate into digital sales, and nimble new competitors with disruptive strategies…stake out leadership positions and are then hard to dislodge.”