Covid-19 Keeps Amazon Brands Guessing: Kiri Masters’ Hot Take

Written by Tom Crosthwaite | Apr 7, 2020 3:02:52 PM

Stabilization of Amazon fulfillment metrics, booming categories and volatile CPCs.

The Covid-19 pandemic is definitely keeping life interesting for brands selling on the Amazon channel! We spoke with Bobsled CEO Kiri Masters to get her take on the latest developments.

Hi Kiri! It’s been a whirlwind few weeks in respect to delivery delays and the prioritization of “essential” items. What’s the latest?

Amazon’s 2-day delivery promise has been under pressure in recent weeks but it now appears that ‘peak shipments’ are behind us and shipping times should start normalizing.

Amazon’s policy to prioritize “essential” items for delivery & inbound shipments was supposed to end on April 5. Here’s an update that was sent to Sellers last week.

“While we will continue prioritizing the products we can receive beyond April 5, we are now able to broaden the list. Given our constrained capacity, we are doing this on an item-by-item basis. We have updated the Restock Inventory page and Restock report in Seller Central so you can check which products are eligible for shipment creation…"

So although delivery time on many items is normalizing, Amazon needs to hedge its bets and be careful of what it’s promising to customers and brands alike.

Which categories are performing well right now?

At the moment, most shoppers on Amazon are looking for:

toilet paper, face masks, hand sanitizers, and other essentials
webcams and keyboards for working from home
resistance bands and dumbbells for the home gym
puzzles and board games for entertainment

In my latest piece for Forbes I profiled four brands that are booming on Amazon during the coronavirus pandemic and how they’re staying ahead of the curve.

In the midst of all the Covid-19 madness, it seems that Amazon made a change with their ARA Premium program. What is Brand Analytics?

Vendor Central's ARA Premium is now Brand Analytics (BA). The change was announced earlier this year, but last week the program was officially rolled out to all accounts. BA is a tool that empowers brand owners enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry to make better informed strategic decisions about their product portfolio and their marketing/advertising activities.

Above: Amazon's Brand Analytics

Armin Alispahic, Bobsled Project Manager, says:

“This update should change the game for many Vendors that have been using ARA Basic so far. Hard to believe that Amazon is actually giving up on $$$ from Vendors who were willing to pay the hefty price for premium reporting! … I wouldn't be surprised if Amazon releases something new Vendors can pay for in the near future.”

What’s happening with Amazon Cost-Per-Click (CPC) rates right now?

We’re observing a lot of volatility. From March 9th, both impressions and CPCs rose steadily in tandem. Peak impressions came on 3/19 before dropping, whilst CPCs remained elevated until 3/25 (interpretation: advertising managers slow to recognize that traffic was drying up).

During times of uncertainty, Amazon advertising looks like the stock market: extremely high volatility, and impossible to make sense of without context. Don’t be slow to react and adjust bids, especially in this environment where spend matters. This is why we use the ad-tech system Kenshoo at Bobsled - to automate bid adjustment and ensure efficient spending even when the metrics are going haywire.

Want More Expert Amazon Insight From Kiri?

The above is just a snippet of Kiri’s latest Amazon Weekly News Digest, which is delivered via email to subscribers every Friday.

For $20/month you’ll get a round up of the week’s biggest news and what it means for brands selling on Amazon. Also, as part of your subscription you’ll get access to our bi-weekly Office Hours where Kiri Masters and the Bobsled team conduct webinars, answer member questions and discuss Amazon best practices. To sign up, click the button below.

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