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    Amazon COVID-19 FAQ

    Many of our clients have requested to pause ads during this time, especially when Amazon was not shipping FBA orders. We urged clients not to do this, as it can be detrimental to your business! 

    Now that Amazon has started fulfilling and shipping some non-essential products through FBA, it’s important for brands to up their spending once again, so their products can maintain their ranking.

    We’ve had a couple brands who have very strict budgets they stick to. In the midst of this crisis, many still haven’t wanted to deviate from that, even when sales are booming! They’re hesitant to spend more money, which is understandable.

    We have been encouraging clients to lean into their successes—so if their products are selling really well, foregoing their typical budget in favor of a more aggressive budget that will match their sales volume. Why cut yourself short for the sake of sticking to an arbitrary number?

    If possible, enable FBM (fulfilled by merchant) listings while you wait for Amazon to replenish your inventory. It’s a relatively quick process if you have the warehouse capability.

    In addition, consider setting up a dot com site if you haven’t already. Your shipping dates might be faster than Amazon’s, so it’s a good insurance plan if someone really wants to buy your products. We’ve seen a lot of dot com sites’ traffic increase because shipping is faster there than on Amazon currently.

    If your entire stock is running low, and your supply chain has been impacted, we might recommend limiting ad spend, if there’s truly no way to fulfill orders.

    If your product is selling well and is shipping, we encourage you to lean into that success and increase your ad spend.

    In this uncertain time, you never know how your supply chains and customers will be affected down the line, which could impact your future sales. So lean into your high-selling products while interest is high, allowing you to preserve your business if sales ever decline.

    Updated April 9, 2020

    Amazon has slowly started to roll out shipping for some non-essential items. Even though the projected date for shipping was April 5, many sellers are still experiencing delays as of April 9.

    If you’re still experiencing delays, you’re not the only one.

    COVID-19 Amazon Stats at a Glance

    Updated April 20, 2020

    • Average CPC -3.74% WoW ($0.84)
    • Average ACoS -4.00% WoW (26.96%)

    Updated April 20, 2020

    • Average CPC -1.14% WoW ($0.87)
    • Average ACoS -13.40% WoW (28.08%)

    Updated April 16, 2020

    • CPCs dropped as impressions increased this past week.

    Updated April 14, 2020

    • Average CPC +1.51% WoW ($0.88)
    • Average ACoS +8.17% WoW (32.4%)

    Updated April 9, 2020

    • A snack brand is pacing to triple their sales YoY for the month of April.
    • A children’s apparel brand’s sales are up 50% YoY for the month of April so far.
    • Unsurprisingly, hand cream has been a top seller for one of our beauty clients, as has shampoo for a hair care brand.

    Updated April 8, 2020

    • Average CPC -3.35% WoW ($0.86)
    • Average ACoS -7.52% WoW (30.09%)

    Recent Wins during COVID-19

    Updated April 28, 2020

    • Many brands across a variety of industries have consistently been posting record sales days.
    • Many brands are seeing a lift in general non branded terms (such as “tea” or “snacks”).
      • This is due to what Amazon calls “aisle shoppers”—people who traditionally shop in brick and mortar stores, but have migrated online in the midst of COVID-19. They’re searching for general products they’d usually buy in a physical store.

    Updated April 23, 2020

    • Brands in a variety of industries continue to have record-breaking sales days for both the year and the company history.
    • Surprisingly, two party supplies brands we worth with have seen significant lifts in the past week.
    • Apparel brands have all seen consistent since last week—with many doing better than they were pre-coronavirus.

    Updated April 21, 2020

    •  An under-the-sink mat company had its highest sales day ever last week, continuing the trend of home improvement brands seeing success as people begin/finish house projects.
    • A toy brand had its highest sales day in the UK ever—5% higher than their previous highest sales day, which occurred during the holidays.
    • At-home hair maintenance products—such as root touch-up and colored hair masks—have seen huge increases. One brand saw their product increase 200% YoY for the month.

    Updated April 16, 2020

    Updated April 14, 2020

    • Many people are reporting that shipping times are actually much faster than the projected ship date Amazon provides. This is great news for consumers!
    • Home workout equipment is continuing to do very well as shelter-in-place orders have extended for many states until the end of April.
    • New products with zero reviews have been reported to perform extremely well, going against the well-known Amazon secret that reviews are the key to sales. Because demand is so high for certain products online, factors like reviews and high sales mean less if you’re actually able to fulfill a product.
    • The air freshener brand we mentioned last week topped their highest sales day again on April 13.

    Updated April 9, 2020

    • One sock company saw their conversion rate double since the first week of April.
    • A brand that sells metal water bottles filled with water has seen demand for their product rise as traditional plastic water bottles are selling out.
    • A girl’s clothing brand’s sales are 50% above last year’s sales MTD.
    • A brand that sells air freshener and toilet spray had their largest sales day of the year on April 5.

    Updated March 25, 2020

    • One tea brand we work with saw a 42.5% increase WOW, and sales of their immunity tea increased by 148.5%!
    • From skincare to makeup, the beauty industry as a whole is doing really well. In fact some brands are seeing sales lifts of over 70% compared to the beginning of March.

    Recent Losses during COVID-19

    Updated April 28, 2020

    • Some industries, including car parts, are preparing to experience inventory gaps in the coming months as their supply chains in China were interrupted.

    Updated April 21, 2020

    • One supplement brand saw their sales dip around April 14–16, when many brands saw noticeable increases due to stimulus checks.

    Updated April 16, 2020

    • One brand’s top-selling FBA product during the pandemic went out of stock, kicking on the FBM SKU with $3.99 shipping, causing an 81% drop in sales WoW for that product.

    Updated April 14, 2020

    • Many popular items (bidets, for one) are out of stock and are unable to fulfill orders on Amazon due to the increased demand. (A win and a loss!)
    • Webcams are all but sold out on Amazon, and those that are still available have had their prices increased. With everyone videoconferencing and live-streaming from home, this isn’t a surprise!

    Amazon COVID-19 Updates

    Updated April 16, 2020

    • Effective April 22, 2020, Amazon its cutting its affiliate commissions from 10% to 3%.
      • This likely isn’t related to COVID-19, but the timing of the update is a little unusual. This could be foreshadowing of other changes in the future.

    Updated April 14, 2020

    • Amazon is pushing some sellers’ FBM rather than FBA, because the shipping time is often faster than FBA at the moment. We recommend prioritizing FBA if you have the option.

    Updated April 8, 2020

    Inbound shipments to FBA are still delayed for some merchants, while others are able to move product. There is now a tool in Seller Central that allows you to see whether your products are affected by the delay.

    For updates from Amazon, check out their COVID-19 FAQ.

    Amazon COVID-19 Insights

    Updated April 14, 2020

    • Don’t price gouge—even unintentionally
      • Like we mentioned above, Amazon is prioritizing FBM shipments for some brands over FBA because the shipping times are higher. We’ve seen some brands try to combat this by upping their FBA price to get their FBM product to get the buy box.
      • This is a huge red flag on Amazon’s side, and they might crack down on your account for price gouging, even if that wasn’t your intention. Amazon can still flag your account.

    Updated April 9, 2020

    • Don’t always judge a brand’s Amazon success just by the numbers
      • You might look at some brand’s Amazon sales numbers and think they’re doing exceptionally well or are struggling. But not everything in the grand scheme of things may be as it seems!
      • Some brands’ Amazon sales have increased dramatically during this time—but looking at the full picture, their dot com and retail sales may be suffering. These brands often pour all their ad budgets into Amazon, since they can’t spend it elsewhere, and they’re reaping the benefits of that. They’re just putting their money into what is generating income for them currently!
      • At the same time, other brands’ Amazon sales may look dismal, but perhaps their dot com sales are booming because Amazon can’t fulfill their orders.
    • Sales in Canada are generally higher than the US
      • For a couple of our brands that advertise in Canada, sales have seen a nice boost in the past week or so—better than the United States.
    • Some apparel brands are seeing a lift, while others are still struggling
      • Athleisure and athletic brands have seen a boost in sales recently, as  customers are working out at home and looking for comfy clothes to wear while working from home. Some “outside” clothes, such as women’s dresses, have also seen a lift in sales, somewhat surprisingly.
      • However, this does not hold true for every apparel sector. Men’s dress shoes—which typically see a lift in sales around Easter—have not been selling well during shelter-in-place.

    Amazon COVID-19 Strategies

    • Lean into your successes
      • When a brand is selling well and are shipping out during COVID-19, we highly recommend upping your ad budget for this time. It can be hard to do, especially if you typically adhere by a strict budget cap. But in this uncertain time, you never know when sales will take a turn for the worse.
      • This might not apply to your entire product selection. Maybe you lean into a couple products that are doing well, and cut back on budgets for items that aren’t shipping or whose sales have dipped.
    • Pause ad spend only when absolutely necessary
      • Typically, you want to keep advertising, even at a lower bid, no matter what. 
      • If you have no more stock left, you’ll obviously not want to advertise until you’re restocked.
    • Reallocate unused ad budgets to Amazon
      • Many brands who sell across multiple platforms are reallocating their advertising budgets. Because traditional retail stores are closed during the pandemic, many brands can’t sell their products in those channels. Since Amazon is still running, many brands have gone all in on Amazon.