As an Amazon seller, running promotions on the platform should be part of your long-term marketing strategy. Deals provide visibility on your products driving sales, and can also result in a halo effect that increases sales across your brand or other products. We’re reviewing the types of promotions available to Amazon seller central professional sellers:
Coupons
A coupon promotion is accessible on the product detail page and the Amazon vouchers page. Customers can click on a voucher and it’s added to their basket. The discount is automatically applied at checkout when a customer purchases an eligible product before the voucher expires. Once you’ve enabled a coupon, a button will appear for customers below the product listing price, allowing them to claim the discount on that product. Coupon also shows up on search and browse pages with a green highlight, giving added visibility whenever you run them. Coupons also show up in Amazon Deals, Brand Stores, search results, detail pages, in the cart/basket, on the offer listings page, and in Sponsored Product ads. Users who find your page through the Amazon Coupons landing page will see coupons highlighted with an orange ribbon.
Coupon discounts can be set up as either a percentage or dollars off. Coupons must be clipped and then applied at checkout in order for the customer to redeem. Percentage Off and Dollars Off coupons will be combined with discounts from other promotions that are running at the same time, including Lightning Deals, Promotions, Sale Price, Business Price, and Giveaway.
The budget you set will be utilized as customers redeem your coupon. The budget/spend includes the discount that the shoppers will be receiving as well as the cost to clip the coupon. Amazon charges US sellers $.60 for every coupon that’s redeemed. However, fees can vary by season, category, and locale, so be sure to check Seller Central for specific clip and redemption fees. When pricing an item, you’ll want to factor in that charge to find a discount amount that makes sense. Read Amazon’s guide on creating coupons here.
Coupon Eligibility
The lead time for coupons is four weeks, and in order to participate a seller’s account rating must be at 3.5 stars or higher, and the discount must be between 5%-80% off the lowest price in the last 30 days.
Additionally, products must meet the following criteria:
- Products with 0 reviews are eligible without any average rating taken into consideration. However, if a product has reviews, then the product must meet the average criteria.
- Products with 1 – 4 reviews must have an average of at least a 2.5-star rating on Amazon.
- Products with 5+ reviews must have an average of at least a 3-star rating on Amazon.
- Can be Seller-Fulfilled, Fulfilled by Amazon, or Seller-Fulfilled Prime
- Must be in new condition
When to Use Coupons
Coupons are popular with customers because they are clear to see and easy to add on before checkout. Paying for coupons is essentially like paying for advertising for an item. Coupons increase the likelihood that a customer will purchase something from your store. By driving more sales you will also climb higher in Amazon’s rankings, which will lead to even more sales.
Oftentimes, the dollar-off coupon is often the more appealing for buyers than the percentage off coupon, (especially for items with small discounts) because it allows the customer to clearly see how much money they’ll be saving without doing any calculations. However, percentage off coupons can be effective too, we recommend experimenting to see which your customers prefer.
TIP: After you submit your coupon, you will have the option to create a Sponsored Products campaign for your coupon ASINs to potentially elevate search placement and increase page views.
Lightning Deals
An Amazon Lightning Deal is a promotion with a limited number of discount offers on an item for a limited period of time. These premium deals are available one per customer, and are time-sensitive, lasting until either the promotional period (usually 4-hour blocks) for the deal expires or all the available promotional discounts are claimed. Lightning Deals display the deal price, the percent discount, percentage of claimed units, and a timer counting down to the end of the deal. It also includes the option to immediately add the product to the cart. These deals can cost around $150 per ASIN depending on the time of the year.
Lightning Deal Eligibility
- Have a Professional Seller account
- Receive at least five Seller Feedback Ratings per month, and have a minimum 3.5-stars rating overall
- The product must have a minimum 3-star rating
- Must be the lowest price in the trailing 90 days
- Cannot be run within 30 days following a Lightning Deal
- For brands on Seller Central, you must meet Amazon’s requirements of a minimum price threshold and a maximum quantity threshold
- Amazon specifies the percentage of variations that must be included in the deal (usually 60% +). For example, for Apparel products, at least 65% of variations must be included in the product set.
When to Use Lightning Deals
There are Pros and Cons to using Lightning Deals. One important upside to these deals is their use of limitations which create a sense of urgency, driving consumers to execute the sale quickly. Another interesting plus of using a Lightning Deal is the “halo effect” that comes with it. On the day your Lightning Deal runs, your Best Seller Rank temporarily improves over that time period, creating a “halo effect” that can result in an increase in customer discovery and sales both during and after the deal has run. Lightning Deals can be found throughout Amazon, and are available on “Today’s Deals” and during Prime Day on the “Prime Day” page.
The biggest downside associated with lightning deals is the lack of control over timing. You are only made aware of the window of time that your deal will run one week before it starts. If you’re lucky you can land one during a peak shopping period, but you could also end up with an undesirable slot, like the middle of the night.
TIP: If you get a bad time slot for your Lightning Deal that results in no sales, our account managers recommend contacting seller support to ask for a refund. Oftentimes they’ll repay you your fee.
Flash Sales / Strike-Through
On the Seller Central platform, sellers can run flash sales or red line discounts. Both of these promotions put your item on sale for a chosen period of time. A sale price can be added to the back end of your listing under the “Offer” tab. Enter your sales price and then choose a start and end time. After the sale period ends, your item returns to its original price. A flash sale will be visible (for most categories) on the product page in red, with a strikethrough the original price and the percentage off shown in parenthesis.
When to Use Flash Sales
Flash sales are a great promotional tool for specific holidays and other peak shopping times where customers are already searching for deals. Additionally, flash sales can be an effective promotional tool to move stagnant inventory, or inventory that is nearing the end of it’s seasonal demand.
Deal of the Day
Amazon Deal of the Day is a premier featured deal on Amazon. The promotion consists of a single item or small set of closely related items that is discounted for a 24 hours period. They are displayed at the top of the Deals page for the entire day in which they run, and stand out by displaying a badge.
Deal of the Day Eligibility
Neither vendors nor sellers can apply specifically for Deal of the Day. These deals are selected by Amazon somewhat cryptically. Amazon’s deal of the day selections takes into account two main factors—whether it thinks an item will in high demand and whether the discount is large enough. Amazon also considers the number of units the seller is willing to offer and customer reviews, along with other factors.
Deal of the Day products cannot be inventory restricted; inventory must be available to fill all customer orders placed during the deal period. This deal is only available for certain products, and it will be featured in different deal placements around the website (Amazon Deal of the Days).
Additionally, the product must have a minimum 3.5-star rating and must be the lowest price in the trailing 365 days. It cannot be run within 30 days following a Lightning Deal.
Prime Exclusive Discounts
Prime Exclusive Discounts are offered on Prime-eligible products sold through FBA, are free for sellers to create, and have a lead time of 24 hours. These deals are only available to Prime members and are a great way to drive extra sales to eligible items. Prime Exclusive discounts are a perfect option for higher-priced discounts (>20%) and they improve the click-through rate significantly over traditional coupons. Products with this deal will show a strikethrough price, plus a savings message in search and near the Buy Box.
Prime Exclusive Discount Eligibility
Discounts must be between 20-80% off and must be the lowest price in the last 30 days by 5%. Sellers must use FBA and have a 3.5+ star rating. Criteria for Eligible Products…
- Prime shipping eligible in all regions in the US
- New condition
- No rating or 3+ star rating
- The discount must be 10%-80% off of your listed price.
- The discount must be the lowest price in the past 30 days.
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