The 2021 holiday shopping season is approaching fast, and those in the know say it may have some surprises up its sleeve.
On one hand, brands and retailers face the opportunity for huge sales—up to 9% more than last year (which was also surprisingly good, according to Retail Dive). On the other? Those dreaded supply chain challenges we’ve all been hearing about that could leave some store shelves lookin’ a li’l bare.
From a marketing perspective, how do you put your best foot forward in ways you can control this holiday season? Start by making sure the Enhanced Product Content (EPC) associated with your brand and its products, on all platforms, is in great shape.
Build on a Strong Enhanced Product Content Foundation for Amazon
What is the EPC equivalent of dotting your i’s and crossing your t’s? Make sure your content is purposeful, from the overall strategy that utilizes it as a digital store shelf to the copy and visuals that make it come to life.
Once you feel good about your all-day, everyday EPC approach, you’re ready for the next level: adding seasonality to your Brand Store.
Take Your Amazon Brand Store to the Next Level
Giving your Amazon Brand Store a holiday remix is not about spending lots of time, energy, and effort developing it as a unique, eye-catching channel. The goal is consistency, across all channels.
That means what a customer sees on your Amazon Brand Store (usually on its home page) is aligned with all the other marketing content they see anywhere else. It could be a seasonal offer or assortment, a specific campaign approach…or just a change in creative that speaks to “holiday” and aligns with what’s on customers’ minds at this time of year.
Let’s take a peek at some Amazon Brand Stores that already pull off seasonal tactics very well to get some clues on what you could do.
See how Fossil promotes its Gen 6 smart watches, front and center, in that second module? The header image (the first module you see with the Fossil logo) also corresponds to that creative.
That’s an area Fossil utilizes often for EPC to match the campaigns it has in other channels. (Right now, you’ll see that same product featured prominently on its own website.)
It seems simple, but that's next-level EPCing: only about 5% of the brands we audit do that good of a job.
Pepsi does something similar, devoting the header (module 1) and other key spots before the scroll to its current product launch (“Soda Shop” flavors).
Both would be primo spots where those brands will likely promote their holiday-specific tactics—and you could, too!
If you’re feeling a little more ambitious as you get your home (page) ready for the holidays, feel free to follow what Levi’s and Columbia do.
We’re talking full-page takeovers: from the header to all the modules visible before the scroll—everything is pretty much devoted to a seasonal aspect (its current campaigns).
When Levi’s transitions from its Back to School/Campus campaign and when Columbia slots in something Holiday to replace its Fall Outdoor Event, that’s where it can happen.
Plan to Update Your Amazon Brand Store for the Holidays
By making these areas seasonally relevant, these brands not only carve out space to promote key selling events, they use their Amazon Brand Stores in the best way possible: as an up-to-date resource to keep customers aware of all the relevant purchases they could make as they’re on their shopping journey.
Seeing how well those brands do (and thinking about the opportunities for you!) is enough to put us in the Christmas spirit early—almost.
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Does your Amazon Brand Store need a holiday makeover to entice shoppers in the coming months? Reach out—we’d love to talk more about what you can do!