Explainers
20 May 2022
How to deal: A guide to help brands prep for Amazon Prime Day 2022
We've got info on key dates, plus tips on inventory, marketing and more.

(Illustration by The Current)
We've got info on key dates, plus tips on inventory, marketing and more.
(Illustration by The Current)
Brands may not be able to circle Prime Day on the calendar yet, but the time to prepare is already here.
Amazon Prime Day is set to return for 2022 in July with a seemingly endless assortment of deals across the ecommerce platform. It offers brands the opportunity to attract attention from a massive audience of customers, and boost a presence that will keep paying dividends down the road.
Like any big event, it’s important to go into Prime Day with the pieces in place to execute. That means knowing key dates, preparing inventory, optimizing marketing and putting the metrics for success in place. With plenty going on already, that's a lot. So, to help, we consulted with experts and key sources to put together a guide to get ready for Prime Day.
Here’s the primer:
Prime Day debuted in July 2015. Billed as a celebration of the Amazon's 20th anniversary, the company effectively created its own holiday. As is typically the case for Amazon, Prime Day is geared toward the customer. The focal point is a bevy of deals on everything from Roombas to Instant Pots to protein powder.
But there are a couple more things that make Prime Day unique.
For one, there was the tie to Prime. Amazon’s membership program already had guarantees built in for shipping and returns. With Prime Day, the subscription could offer access to the best deals at a particular event. It's designed to entice new signups. For Amazon, this also provides an entry point to the range of its services, from streaming video to Kindle to Whole Foods.
The timing also stood out. Think of when retailers probably want to offer big deals, and typically the holidays come to mind, particularly around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Placing Prime Day in July planted a big shopping event in the heart of the summer. It’s typically a slower time for retail, as school is out and many people are on vacation. With Prime Day, Amazon harnessed the convenience of web-based shopping to turn that on its head.
“The advantage for doing it in the summer is that in theory it is less cluttered in the market because people are in a vacation state of mind,” said Allen Adamson, cofounder of marketing strategy and activation firm Metaforce and adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business. “What has changed is that even when people are sitting in their beach chair in the ocean, they have their phone in their hand. They can shop just as easily from the beach as they could by getting in the car and going to the mall.”
Prime Day became massive, and has grown every year since its inception. In 2021, sales reached $11.19 billion, up from $10.4 billion in 2020, according to Digital Commerce 360. It shifted the retail calendar, as Prime Day is now a destination event for brands. It has even created a famed halo effectfor other retailers that boosts ecommerce as a whole in July.
As it announced first quarter earnings in April, Amazon unveiled that Prime Day 2022 will be held in July. The company didn’t provide more details on the exact date and how long Prime Day will last, but the announcement was in and of itself a reminder:
Now is the time for brands to start preparing.
Given the success of Prime Day, the decision to participate is likely not a difficult one for many brands at this point. Consulting with private-label brands on Amazon as founder and CEO of Black Label Advisor, Jon Elder, said he has never met one that didn’t want to participate.
It speaks to the potential upside, but keep in mind that big events, by their nature, require going a level above.
“Everyone is going to be leaning into this, so if you’re going to play, you have to play to win,” Adamson said.
Success can look different for brands of different sizes and categories. The important thing is to determine where you fit, and what success will look like.
With that in mind, let’s break down how to get ready for Prime Day in several important areas:
For brands that use Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), there’s a key date to keep in mind: June 20. That’s when Amazon requires sellers to send in FBA inventory. But given the volume of participation in Prime Day, it’s best to get ahead. As with any event, there can be long lines.
“I recommend sending in your inventory by June 1 to avoid the congestion at check-in that happens each year at FBA warehouses,” Elder said. “There is nothing worse than seeing your Prime Day deal get canceled because you waited until the last minute to get your inventory in. It's better to be safe than sorry in this case.”
Meanwhile, the deadline for coupon submission is June 10, according to Amazon. The deadline for Prime Exclusive Discounts for Prime Day is July 8. The latter discounts have specific criteria for Prime Day, so review them here before submitting.
The announcement of the actual date of Prime Day is still to come. Given the inventory deadline, Elder expects that it will likely be held in mid-July.
Holding Prime Day in July marks a return to Amazon’s approach from 2015-2019. It was delayed until the fall in 2020, and held in June in 2021.
Given the success, Prime Day has expanded to a two-day event. Plan accordingly.
When it comes to producing and preparing the products that will be sent in to FBA, stick to the mantra that more is better.
“In terms of inventory, it's best to stock up on your best sellers and make it an internal business goal to not run out of any inventory,” Elder said. “It's always better to be overstocked and stay in stock than to run lean and run out because of Prime Day.”
A backup option, he said, is to work with a third-party fulfillment provider to store additional inventory. If needed, switch a listing to Fulfilled by Merchant (FBM) in order to continue to fulfill Amazon orders even if the FBA inventory runs out.
Knowing what’s most likely to sell can also help to make inventory decisions. In 2021, the top Prime Day categories were health & beauty, consumer electronics, household essentials and apparel, according to Numerator.
Brands are always looking to help their products stand out from the crowd. That’s especially important during a big event like Prime Day. Amazon brings in the traffic. For brands, the work lies in attracting customers.
Given the focus on deals, an event like Prime Day is typically a good place to implement a loss leader strategy. This is when a product is sold at a price that won’t make a profit, but sells in a high volume that brings lots of customers to both the product, and the brand as a whole.
Heavily discounting a certain product can help to attract attention. Practically speaking, this idea is built in to Prime Day. Sellers must offer steep discounts in order to get approved.
There’s a wider opportunity to stand out that goes beyond the core deals offered by Amazon, too. Elder noted a few more approaches brands can take:
Make time to prepare. Before the event, it helps to set aside some time for housekeeping on a few items. This includes optimizing PPC optimization, and completing listings audits. If you’re engaging with influencer marketing on platforms like Instagram and TikTok, it’s also especially important to ensure off-Amazon traffic campaigns are set up correctly, Elder said.
Given the extreme deals available, it’s best to think about Prime Day in the same way Amazon does. The company has shown it is willing to make Prime Day itself a loss leader for the company, running the event on thin margins. The point is not to boost sales. Rather, it is to attract more people to shop on Amazon.
Brands can adopt a similar mindset. Think less about profits, and more about boosting your presence on Amazon for the long-term.
“If consumers are only buying from you on Amazon Prime Day, that’s a good business for Amazon,” Adamson said. “That’s not a good business for you.”
Again, an approach that can bring success goes back to how Prime Day is built. Due to the nature of how discounts are calculated, deals are measured in BSR (Best Seller Rank), not total revenue.
That makes BSR the key metric for Prime Day success.
“To get a deal approved, the discount must be extreme,” Elder said. “In many cases, the brand will lose money on the Prime Day deal. However, making money on the deal is not the goal. Rather, it's to boost BSR, which, in turn, boosts organic ranking, creating increased revenue long term.”
This also contributes to obtaining a Best Seller Badge, an instantly-recognizable identifier of top sellers that helps to increase trust. It shows how what happens on Prime Day has implications for future sales, and underscores the importance of ensuring Prime Day fits into a brand’s overall strategy.
The many swings and shocks of the last few years have taught us that events happening in the world can impact individuals businesses in big ways. That applies here, as well.
In 2020, Prime Day was delayed until October due to the pandemic. In 2021, supply chain issues meant brands were working hard to avoid out-of-stocks. This year, record inflation means prices are up across the economy. Brands are facing challenges at nearly every touchpoint, from the cost of raw materials to transportation, Elder said. That could impact Prime Day as a whole.
“Right now, brand owners are laser focused on maintaining their margin, so prices are going up,” he said. “There is just not the same appetite to provide steep discounts this time around.”
It's important to consider how prices will impact the discounts a brand is able to offer. Even if a brand doesn’t offer a deal at the event, there are opportunities to gain visibility by participating. Ahead of Prime Day 2021, 58% of consumers surveyed by Adobe reported plans to participate. That's a big audience to get in front of. Consider a sale around the event, or approaches to help connect with customers by communicating a brand's values and unique story.
All in all, it’s a rare opportunity for brands to introduce themselves, or meet someone new. Take the time to ensure your brand is viewed in the best light.
This post was updated at 11:35 a.m. on 5/27/22.
Accurate inventory is now essential for Amazon FBA sellers, writes Emplicit's Evan Sherman.
Amazon used to be a lot more laissez faire about how Fulfilled By Amazon (FBA) sellers used their fulfillment centers. Sellers could send in inventory, and, while the space wasn’t unlimited, if their sales were not as forecasted they would simply pay long-term storage fees. Sure, if a seller’s inventory management was poor enough they would have their inventory storage limits reduced and pay higher storage fees, but this was just an incentive not to let things slide too much.
However, in 2022 Amazon reduced storage limits overall to the point where some FBA sellers had sales and catalog size impacted, and in March 2023 Amazon revised their inventory system. There is now an incentive for FBA sellers to be highly accurate with inventory management because Amazon will reward them with increased storage limits. Precision is a carrot now, rather than a stick.
In this article, we provide five strategic methods that sellers can utilize to optimize inventory management on Amazon.
Achieving successful inventory management on Amazon requires a profound understanding of past demand patterns and the capacity to accurately forecast future demand. Seasonality, market trends, historical sales figures, competitor activity and planned promotions all play a crucial role in determining the trajectory of sales.
At Emplicit, we advocate for the analysis of multiple historical data points, encompassing previous 7, 30, 60, and 90-day sales figures. Our logistics experts factor in internal factors such as stock availability, marketing spend, promotions, and sales and margin targets, and external factors such as seasonality, Amazon trends, new category restrictions and market entrants. A comprehensive review of shipments in working, shipped, or receiving status is also beneficial. Striking a balance between what has been sold, what is available, and what's en route to an Amazon fulfillment center is key to precise forecasting.
Inventory management isn’t a static task; it requires constant vigilance and flexibility. FBA sellers should regularly review and modify their demand forecasts, adjust their replenishment suggestions based on demand shifts, and update their minimum reorder points as required.
Sellers should review sales daily, plan replenishment frequencies to suit their needs, and maintain appropriate inventory levels at Amazon. Weekly replenishments can help keep a seller’s inbound pipeline full, minimize out-of-stock instances, and account for unforeseen supply chain disruptions.
Amazon’s organic and paid algorithms prioritize products with high sell-through rates. This means best selling products end up selling better. Focusing on high-performing items allows FBA sellers to reduce monthly storage costs, avoid aged inventory and the associated fees that Amazon imposes, and curtail the need for costly removal orders. And sales velocity is the quickest way to get Amazon to increase your storage limits. Concentrate on the 20% of items that generate 80% of sales.
At the same time, sellers should prune their catalogs by removing slow-selling items. These items negatively affect Amazon’s Inventory Performance Index (IPI) score, which directly influences the space Amazon allocates to a seller’s inventory in their fulfillment centers.
If sellers are tight on inventory space, as well as the best-selling products, they should prioritize products with higher margins until Amazon provides additional storage, and they should reduce marketing spend accordingly – something which necessitates a close relationship between inventory and marketing.
Ranking products by sales and margins, and calculating the storage space each product takes up will go a long way towards understanding and anticipating demand on Amazon.
Amazon’s capacity management system is a new system for allocating inventory limits to FBA sellers and allowing sellers to gauge their inventory capacity at Amazon’s fulfillment centers. It also enables sellers to bid on increases to their inventory limits.
Previously, Amazon had restock limits which were updated weekly based on the seller’s previous 90-day sales. Restock limits were determined by Inventory Performance Index (IPI) metrics such as sell-through, excess inventory, and stranded inventory. However, because the restock limits were updated weekly, it was challenging to plan accordingly, especially heading into a peak season or if a seller was about to run a promotion.
With Amazon’s Capacity Monitor program, sellers are given a monthly capacity outlook based on the cubic feet of space occupied by their products in Amazon’s fulfillment centers and their IPI metrics. Amazon not only provides a current month outlook on available space; they provide an estimate for the next three months which can aid in the inventory planning process.
To take advantage of the new system, it’s imperative FBA sellers understand their product's physical footprint in relation to the allotted space Amazon provides (Amazon does still provide unit estimates). Knowing a product’s cubic feet and the product tier designation allows for effective planning of inventory replenishment. Exceeding space limits means overage fees from Amazon, however, if a seller knows they have a peak in sales coming up they can bid for additional capacity (in cubic feet). However, selling-through this additional inventory means Amazon waives those fees, so it’s a win-win.
At Emplicit, we have seen the capacity monitor program benefit our clients, with many clients seeing an increase in the amount of inventory they can ship in – likely due to healthy sell-through velocity and other IPI metrics. The program has fundamentally changed the way we approach managing our inventory on Amazon, so everything sellers do regarding inventory planning should be within the context of Amazon’s capacity monitor program.
Smart sellers should already be considering the impact of their product packaging on their FBA fulfillment fees. If the actual product size allows, sellers can generate significant savings by reducing the size of their packaging. Amazon’s Small Standard rates are 15-20% cheaper than Large Standard rates depending on weight, and Amazon’s Small & Light rates are 15-27% cheaper still than Small Standard rates. However, fulfillment cost savings are not the only reason to reduce packaging size, smaller packaging can significantly increase Amazon inventory cost-efficiencies.
With Amazon’s capacity management system providing inventory space based on cubic feet rather than number of units, the space each product takes up is now more important than ever. While larger packaging sizes can sometimes improve sales in brick and mortar retail, sellers should consider developing smaller Amazon-only packaging. This will not only reduce fulfillment costs, but allow more units to be stored in the same inventory space. The combined savings can more than offset the cost of a redesign and second packaging print run.
Additionally, smaller packaging may qualify sellers for Amazon’s Compact By Design badge. This helps brands stand out, and increases click-throughs and conversions. (We suspect there are algorithm tweaks for brands with certain badges too, but it’s difficult to prove.) Amazon-specific packaging can help with Transparency (anti-counterfeiters) and help combat unauthorized resellers.
While it might seem like a significant investment and not something the inventory team typically gets involved with, reducing packaging size is a long-term way for FBA sellers to optimize inventory management.
Amazon Global Logistics (AGL) offers a streamlined solution for sellers whose products are manufactured in China. AGL eliminates the need to use freight forwarders who would usually receive a shipment from China, then split up that shipment and forward on to multiple Amazon fulfillment centers per the standard FBA process. Instead, sellers can book shipments directly with Amazon, complete the necessary export/import documentation, and ship directly to US, UK or European fulfillment centers – sending the entire shipment to a single fulfillment center.
If leveraged properly, AGL can save sellers thousands of dollars in warehouse and 3PL fees and reduce the need for inventory to be processed multiple times before it arrives at Amazon’s fulfillment center, meaning inventory gets where it needs to be quicker.
AGL offers two shipping options – Standard Ocean Freight and Fast Ocean Freight – with the standard option giving sellers the opportunity to either ship via a full container load (FCL) or less than container load (LCL). Shipping partial container loads with Amazon doesn’t slow shipments down versus other carriers because of Amazon’s scale. Amazon’s economies of scale mean that AGL can offer shipping prices from mainland China and Hong Kong that most sellers are unable to match. And Amazon’s expert customs brokers get products cleared through customs quickly because Amazon has a vested interest in shortening the time to market.
This one-step international shipping direct to Amazon was actually something we pioneered before the advent of this service from AGL – working with our client Shapermint and their manufacturers in China and logistics team to ensure packaging and shipments were FBA compliant. However, now AGL offers this service, it’s an even easier solution to a common challenge. We suspect AGL will roll out in other international manufacturing markets, but Amazon is tight-lipped for now.
Amazon inventory management is complex and needs constant attention. Sellers can hire a fractional inventory specialist because this is not something that should be trusted to an Amazon generalist. If sellers get inventory right, it will keep pace with sales. But if they get it wrong, their inventory can become the main thing holding them back.
Evan Sherman is the director of logistics at Emplicit.