DEVELOPING AN

AMAZON STRATEGYA Guide for Brands

Whether you love it or hate it, Amazon is here to stay. The eTail giant nabbed nearly half of online retail sales last year, and had a record-breaking holiday season.

Even if you don’t sell products through Amazon, your customers are almost certainly using the site for research, product comparison and purchases. Amazon has a lot to teach any marketer or retailer about product trends and consumer behavior.

In this report, you’ll learn how to increase Amazon sales with better merchant analytics, how to market products on Amazon versus on Google, and what you can learn from the Amazon product trends last holiday season.

Introduction

Table of Contents

1.Seller Strategy Increase Sales with Better MerchantAnalytics

2.Amazon vs. GoogleOptimize Performance Based on Search Behavior

3.Holiday InsightsKey Amazon Product Trends and Analysis

1. Seller Strategy:Increase Sales with Better Merchant AnalyticsIn this section we’ll look at data from several health & beauty brands to demonstrate how a seller can improve Amazon sales performance. What is your audience seeking and buying on Amazon? Which of your competitor’s products are converting, and how can you conquest those sales?

Maybelline vs. L’Oreal - Battle for Mascara Market ShareDriving traffic to your Amazon product page is important, but it doesn’t always translate to more sales. For example, mascara is a popular product on Amazon (the 6th most-searched term in the Beauty category), but determining the most “successful” mascara brand on the site is more complex than it first appears.

Maybelline and L’Oreal compete closely for mascara market share on Amazon; if we look at product page engagement for each brand’s top-selling mascara, L’Oreal appears to come out ahead by pulling a higher volume of sessions. But digging deeper into purchase and comparison behavior reveals otherwise.

21%15,975 2,665

4,786 2,263

5%

47% 21%

Total Page Sessions

L'Oreal ParisVoluminous Original Waterproof Mascara

Maybelline New York Lash SensationalMascara, Waterproof

TotalPurchases

Purchase Rate(Per Session)

Last View Rate(Per Session)

L’Oreal vs. Maybelline Mascara Amazon Page Sessions & Purchase

Page sessions and purchase data pulled using Hitwise’s Amazon Product Tracker, pulled the month of June 2017. Internal Amazon search data pulled 30 days ending 9/30/17.

In spite of attracting less than 1/3 the traffic, Maybelline gets nearly the same total purchases as L’Oreal. It also has a higher “last view” rate, meaning it was the last product shoppers saw before buying. This suggests consumers are more confident in their purchase, which coincides with internal search behavior: “maybelline mascara” searches rank 82nd in the Amazon Beauty category, whereas “loreal mascara” ranks 987th*, suggesting Maybelline has stronger brand equity for mascara.

L’Oreal pulls over 3X sessions to their mascara’s product page than Maybelline. This number may be bolstered by being labeled “Amazon’s Choice,” and from sponsoring several ad placements under search results for “mascara.”

On September 15th, 2017 Amazon launched a special “buy one get one 30% off” sale for a wide selection of beauty products. Tracking popular searches in Amazon’s Beauty category the day before, during, and after the sale reveals what types of products consumers seek during a sale (versus a regular day).

Slightly more expensive beauty products, like hair dryers and teeth whiteners shot up during the day of the sale, while more commonly purchased items like mascara were more popular on regular days. On the following page, we’ll take a look at how merchants selling “big ticket” items can select the right products to promote on sale days, when they are most in demand.

Amazon Flash Sales - Tracking Flux in Product Demand

Day Before Sale

Term Share0.61%

0.42%

0.38%

0.37%

0.36%

0.36%

0.34%

0.32%

0.32%

0.28%

0.27%

0.27%

0.26%

0.25%

0.25%

0.24%

0.24%

0.23%

0.21%

0.21%

makeup brushes

mascara

unscented deodorant

essential oils

eyeliner pencil

shampoo

charcoal face wash

body wash

beard trimmer

essential oil set

concealer

pre teen toothbrush

maybelline color sensational...

eyeliner

hair dryers

beard oil

magnesium lotion

barber

hair dryer

nail polish

Day of Sale

ShareTerm0.58%

0.48%

0.42%

0.37%

0.37%

0.37%

0.36%

0.36%

0.33%

0.30%

0.29%

0.26%

0.26%

0.26%

0.26%

0.25%

0.25%

0.24%

0.24%

0.22%

hair dryer

teeth whitening

tattoo ink

makeup brushes

nail polish

essential oils

face mask

korean skin care

mens wet dry electric shaver

pro comb

hair straightener

sunscreen

deodorant

straight razor

beard oil

magnetic eyelashes

glass spray bottle

lace front wigs

sulfur shampoo

makeup

Day After Sale

ShareTerm1.41%

0.56%

0.43%

0.40%

0.29%

0.24%

0.22%

0.21%

0.20%

0.20%

0.20%

0.20%

0.19%

0.19%

0.19%

0.19%

0.18%

0.18%

0.18%

0.18%

essential oils

makeup brushes

hair dryer

mascara

perfumes for women

face mask

flat iron

beard oil

hair clippers

shampoo

edens garden essential...

castor oil

waterpik

curling iron

gold earrings for women

hair brush

paul mitchell tea tree...

hair clips

teeth whitening

deodorant

Top Searches on Amazon BeautyBefore, During & After Beauty Sale

Internal Amazon search data on September 14th, 15th and 16th of 2017.

Conair’s choice is fairly obvious when it comes to selecting the right hair dryer to promote during the Amazon sale. Although their “Vagabond” dryer pulls slightly fewer product page sessions than the “Soft Touch,” it converts better. People who visit the “Vagabond” are also more likely to purchase the dryer without shopping further, making it an ideal item to drive traffic to during a limited-time sale.

Teeth whitening is also a great product to promote heavily during a sale, but it poses a more complex decision for Crest. Their “White Luxe” kit initially appears to be the winner, with more sessions and total sales. But “Noticeably White Whitestrips” has a higher purchase rate and last view rate, suggesting this product may convert better if it gets more attention and traffic (which it might during a sale).

Page sessions and purchase data pulled using Hitwise’s Amazon Product Tracker, pulled the month of June 2017.

An Obvious Choice

A Less Obvious Choice

11,993

11,680

12,792

14,323

3194

2887

2264

1940

27%

25%

18%

14%

31%

5%

8%

8%

Total Page Sessions

Conair VagabondCompact Hair Dryer; Teal

Conair Hair Dryer; White

Conair Ionic Conditioning Styler / Hair Dryer; Blue

Conair Soft Touch 2-in-1 Styler / Hair Dryer; Black

TotalPurchasesTitle

SessionPurchase Rate

Last View Rate (Session)

15,256

7,980

1,568

1,405

4,264

83,096

41,782

7,376

13,167

1,106

18%

19%

21%

11%

26%

12%

10%

8%

3%

13%

Total Page Sessions

Crest 3D White LuxeTeeth Whitening Strips Kit, 14 Treatments

Crest 3D White Professional E�ects Teeth Whitening Strips Kit, 20 Treatments

Crest 3D White Gentle Routine Teeth Whitening Strips Kit, 14 Treatments

Crest 3D White 1 Hour Express Whitestrip Teeth Whitening Strips, Sample Kit

Crest Noticeably White Whitestrips, 10 Treatments

TotalPurchasesTitle

SessionPurchase Rate

Last View Rate (Session)

2.Amazon vs. Google: Optimize Based on Search BehaviorIn this section we look specifically at differences in how people search for products on Amazon vs. Google, so you can identify which keyword strings and terms get the best traction on each platform.

Top Product Searches: Amazon vs. GoogleAmazon is increasingly popular for product purchases, but where do people research different products? The table below reveals the share of consumers conducting several of the top product searches exclusively on Amazon, versus the same searches exclusively on Google:

Breaking down searches for two popular products, headphones and games, shows how differently people search by category. Over three quarters of people conducting headphone searches did so exclusively on Amazon, suggesting that headphone sellers should invest more in Amazon product listings. Meanwhile, a video game company might want to focus on Google PLAs, where more game searches take place:

Data pulled during the 4th quarter of 2016 (during the holiday season). Remaining % reflect people who searched on both sites.

Singular vs. Plural SearchesA pattern also emerges between singular and plural search variations. While many product searches are popular on Amazon, singular variations are even more likely to be Amazon-only.

This suggests that consumers are more likely to use Google (or both Google and Amazon) to cast a wider net and compare multiple products. Meanwhile, they are more likely to conduct singular product searches on Amazon in order to see the specific models and prices Amazon has available, rather than to seek out broader information.

As seen here with headphone and television searchers, high-income households are more likely to be Amazon-exclusive searchers, while lower income households skew towards being Google exclusive.

This pattern could be influenced by an increased likelihood of higher income households to be Amazon Prime members.

Data pulled during the 4th quarter of 2016 (during the peak holiday season).

3. Amazon Holidays: Key Insights & Products Trends

In this section you will learn which products were trending on Amazon during the early and later stages of the holidays — and what this can tell us about how consumer behavior changes throughout the peak season.

Amazon broke its own shopping records during the 2017 holiday season, and will undoubtedly continue this trend in 2018. Let’s take a look how product demand shifted on Amazon in the lead up to Peak Week (Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday), and the week before Christmas.

Top Holiday Product Searches on AmazonThe most consistently sought-after holiday gifts on Amazon included games, gaming consoles and bluetooth headphones. As the season progressed, however, internal Amazon searches reflected a change in consumers needs, as shoppers sought out easier ideas and solutions to complete their holiday gift list.

Data based on a Hitwise Custom Analysis of internal search terms within Amazon.com search engine, and visits to Amazon Product Pages. Pulled over a seven days ending November 12th 2017, and the week before ending November 5th.

The Nintendo Switch was the most consistently searched item both before Peak Week, and as Christmas neared

Before ChristmasBefore Peak Week

Based on a Hitwise Custom Analysis of internal search terms within Amazon.com search engine, and visits to Amazon Product Pages. Pulled over a 7 days ending November 12th 2017, and 7 days ending December 7th, 2017.

As Christmas drew closer, Amazon’s internal search reflected shopper pressure to finish up their gift buying. The week before Christmas, more shoppers sough gift inspiration for trickier names on their list, as “gifts for men” moved up 18 spots that week. In fact, variations of “gifts for” occupied four of the top fifty searches that week. Consumers also opted for the easier present choice: “gift cards for amazon” rose a whole fifty spots that week.

Based on a Hitwise Custom Analysis of internal search terms within Amazon.com search engine, and visits to Amazon Product Pages. Pulled over a 7 days ending November 12th 2017, and 7 days ending December 7th, 2017.

Product page visits indicates even stronger intent than searches — product page visitors click through to a particular item page in order to read the specs, customer reviews or even to purchase the item.

Top Holiday Product Pages on Amazon

Perhaps unsurprisingly based on search behavior, we saw the Nintendo Switch also pull the most product visits on Amazon before Peak Week, along with other gaming consoles, TV devices, and tablets. However, the biggest winners closer to Christmas day were almost entirely Amazon products — the Echo and Fire — with the exception of the Instant Pot.

2017 was the first time a non-Amazon product, the Instant Pot, was at the top of the list throughout the entire holiday season — even right before Christmas, when Echo and Fire dominated.

The Echo Dot was consistently visited throughout the season, so its no surprise it was the #1 selling product on Amazon this Christmas. The Echo Show, an Echo with a screen, made it into the top 10 for the first time right before Christmas, suggesting that perhaps so many people had purchased Echos by December that they were looking to add a screen to the mix.

Before ChristmasBefore Peak Week

Where can I get insights like this? We help clients get ahead with the most advanced competitive analytics on the web, including:

Retail & Product Tracker: Track fast-selling products and popular categories across multiple retail sites. Identify product demand and determine gaps within your own categories.

Internal Search: Hitwise offers internal site search data from within search engines on Amazon, YouTube, Target and more. Data can even be segmented by demographic or location.

Journey Mapping: Get a full map of your customer’s path to purchase, across the entire web. Intercept your competitor’s audience during the research phase to conquest their customers.

Conversion Points: Benchmark your traffic and conversion rates against your competitors, and evaluate your performance across different third party sites.

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For more information visit us at:www.hitwise.com