Unlocking Growth for Beauty Brands on Amazon in Q4
Author: Libby Holsan, Account Manager at Luminary Retailers
With Q4 here, now is the time for beauty brands to tap into the massive potential of Amazon's marketplace. With holiday shopping, gifting, and seasonal promotions ramping up, the platform becomes a goldmine for both customer retention and acquisition. For brands ready to make the most of this peak season, it’s essential to focus on meeting current customers where they shop and attracting new ones through smart marketing, promotions, and advertising. Here’s how beauty brands can maximize their growth on Amazon during this crucial time:
1. Meet Your Customers Where They Are
In today’s omnichannel world, customers are already shopping on Amazon. With its vast selection, fast shipping, and seamless customer experience, Amazon has become the go-to marketplace for beauty shoppers looking for everything from everyday essentials to giftable holiday sets. Beauty brands should take advantage of this by optimizing their presence with Enhanced Brand Content (i.e. A+, Brand Story) and Amazon Stores.
Optimize Your Product Pages: Use high-quality images, engaging product descriptions, and videos that highlight unique selling points. Make sure your products stand out visually and that their benefits are clear to potential buyers. Don’t leave money on the table by underutilizing the A+ and the Brand Story sections of your listings. These are areas where you can expand on product benefits, unique selling points and give a background on your brand which helps to form a connection with your customers.
Leverage Customer Reviews: Ensure your existing customers’ positive reviews are featured and that negative feedback is addressed. Social proof is a powerful tool on Amazon, especially in the beauty industry where trust in product effectiveness is crucial.
The Beauty Category Growth on Amazon:
Amazon’s beauty category has experienced significant growth year over year. In fact, the beauty and personal care category on Amazon grew by over 30% in 2022, continuing a trend that has seen annual growth rates between 20-35% since 2019. This surge is driven by increasing consumer trust in online beauty purchases and the convenience Amazon offers with fast shipping and a wide array of products. With beauty brands being one of the fastest-growing segments on Amazon, now is the time to take full advantage of this trend.
2. Boost Your Brand with Strategic Marketing & Promotions
The holiday season is prime time for special offers, bundles, and promotions. Beauty shoppers are always on the lookout for a good deal, especially during Q4 when they’re buying gifts or restocking essentials for the winter months. If looking to utilize this tactic, be sure you’ve set up any new listings and sent inventory well before Q4 to ensure you can beat any inventory restrictions.
Run Amazon-Specific Promotions: Use Lightning Deals, Coupons, Subscribe & Save options as well as Brand Tailored Promos to incentivize repeat purchases and drive traffic. Consider offering exclusive, limited-time holiday bundles that are only available on Amazon to create a sense of urgency. If opting for seasonal sets, don’t forget to send inventory in before Q4 to avoid any disruptions with inventory receipts or storage limitations. If possible, utilize the Vine program to get those crucial initial reviews.
Capitalize on Holiday Shopping Events: Take advantage of Amazon’s major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday. These days are not just about discounts—they’re also huge discovery opportunities for new customers who might not have tried your brand yet. Customers who shop these events are looking for DEALS. If your product isn’t on sale, they will gravitate towards one that is.
Stat Spotlight:
In Q4 of 2022, Amazon's total sales during Black Friday and Cyber Monday increased by 7% year-over-year, and beauty brands saw some of the largest spikes in sales during this time. Promotions and deals, especially on these key shopping days, can drastically increase brand visibility and customer acquisition.
3. Drive Growth with Targeted Advertising
Amazon’s robust advertising tools can help you get your products in front of the right customers. By focusing on data-driven campaigns, you can increase visibility and conversion rates during this busy shopping season.
Sponsored Products & Brands: Promote your top-selling items or new launches with Sponsored Products ads that appear in search results or on product pages. Sponsored Brands ads are also great for increasing brand awareness by showcasing your logo and a curated selection of your products.
Amazon DSP (Demand-Side Platform): Use Amazon’s programmatic advertising platform to reach both in-market and lookalike audiences outside of Amazon. This is especially useful for retargeting customers who have visited your product pages but haven’t yet made a purchase.
Use Data to Your Advantage: Amazon’s Brand Analytics provides insights into customer demographics, purchase behavior, and keywords that are driving traffic. Use this data to fine-tune your campaigns and target the most relevant audiences. You can take it one step further and run Brand Tailored Promotions that target your selected audience to help reingage declining or disengaged tiers of customers.
4. Don’t Worry About Amazon vs. Your D2C Website
A common concern for beauty brands is that by selling on Amazon, they might be cannibalizing sales from their direct-to-consumer (D2C) websites. However, the data shows that these channels can coexist and even complement each other. According to a study, 66% of online shoppers start their search on Amazon, even if they discover a brand elsewhere. Many customers will continue to purchase on Amazon due to its convenience, fast shipping, and trust in the platform, even if they first encountered the brand through other channels.
Additionally, the typical Amazon customer often looks for entry-point products like sample sizes, travel kits, or bestsellers. These entry-level products create brand awareness and serve as a gateway for customers to explore a brand’s full range - potentially leading them to the D2C website for larger or more specialized purchases.
Maximizing Both Channels:
By using Amazon to acquire new customers with introductory products, brands can guide them to their D2C channels for a more premium experience, exclusive collections, or subscriptions. Each platform serves different types of shoppers, with Amazon attracting convenience-driven consumers and your D2C site offering a more personalized, brand-centric experience.
5. Deliver an Exceptional Customer Experience
Customer retention is just as important as acquisition. Make sure your existing customers are delighted with their experience on Amazon by offering exceptional customer service and engaging with them through post-purchase follow-ups.
Streamlined Fulfillment: If you haven’t already, consider enrolling in Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) to ensure fast, reliable shipping and take advantage of Amazon Prime’s customer base. Quick, efficient shipping is a major factor in customer satisfaction and can drive repeat purchases.
Engage with Your Audience: Use Amazon’s Customer Engagement tools to stay connected with buyers and build loyalty. Send follow-up emails or request reviews to keep your brand top-of-mind, even after the purchase.
Conclusion
Q4 offers beauty brands a prime opportunity for growth on Amazon. By optimizing your brand presence, running strategic promotions, leveraging Amazon’s powerful advertising tools, and delivering an exceptional customer experience, your brand can capture the attention of both loyal customers and new shoppers. With a data-driven approach, your beauty brand can unlock significant revenue growth and build lasting relationships with Amazon’s vast audience during the busiest shopping season of the year.
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