How Amazon Works

When it comes to Amazon, the biggest mistakes brands make is to think about it as any other channel.

As a result, they copy paste their strategy from their retail channels, and end up getting stuck. Because Amazon is its own ecosystem.

Here are the key mental models you need to play the game right.

Amazon Is One Store

Despite its size, Amazon is still one single store. Your product has one listing, and those who see it are Amazon customers.

While multiple sellers can sell your products, they just rotate control of the “Buy Box”, the box with the buy button. It’s like having multiple booths in the same store. They don’t reach more people, they just compete with each other instead of competing with other brands.

Amazon Is About Convenience

Unlike specialty stores, Amazon customers’ behavior is driven by convenience above everything else.

They’re searching, clicking, and buying fast. The more friction they have to deal with to buy your products, the worse your results. If your listings aren’t clear, if Prime shipping isn’t available, if the catalog is bloated or broken, they’re gone.

Amazon Is Search Driven

There are no shelves, and almost no one browses by category. Shopper behavior on Amazon is overwhelmingly driven by direct search.

Their attention isn’t directed by the store organization or sales assistants. Your marketing must focus on visibility in high-intent searches and problem-product fit, not general brand awareness. If your products don’t come up in their research, you don’t sell.

Amazon Is The World’s Catalog

Amazon’s customers aren’t just a segment of your market, based on location and store type. It’s the everything store for 180M+ Prime members.

A lot of product purchases, even off Amazon, include a stop on Amazon to check reviews and listings. Your catalog and messaging needs to take this into account, or you lose to competitors who know how to communicate to the whole market.

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‍A copy paste strategy on Amazon doesn’t work. Your approach needs to be tailored to its unique ecosystem. And the easiest way to execute on all that is to have a key expert partner like Zoplenti.