With two-day shipping and nearly limitless products, sellers, and vendors, Amazon has raised the bar for online buying.
If you’ve been selling on Amazon for a while, you’re probably aware that being competitive isn’t enough. Using Amazon Lightning Deals is one approach to entice your audience. They are Amazon promotional offers that are only available for a limited time. They usually last 4-6 hours on Amazon’s Deals page. If you’re running a Lightning Deal for your goods, you’ll be able to quickly increase your sales.
Running a successful Lightning Deal demands not just a thorough understanding of how they function, but also a rethinking of what to expect in terms of outcomes. It’s not simply about making quick money. The risk is just as important as the return.
We’ll teach you all you need to know about Amazon Lightning Deals, including if they’re worth your time and money.
What are Amazon Lightning Deals?
An Amazon Lightning Deal is a flash sale that offers a discount on a limited number of product units for a limited time – typically 6 hours. Lightning Deals can be found on the Today’s Deals page, on Prime, and through organic searches. Items with Lightning Deals will have a badge next to them on their individual product pages until the deal expires.
You must be a Professional Seller with at least five Seller Feedback Ratings per month and an overall seller rating of at least 3.5 stars to be eligible to run Lightning Deals. Furthermore, only products that meet certain requirements, including (most significantly) having a proven track record, are eligible for discounts. Products that have just been released are not eligible.
Promoting a product with a Lightning Deal can be a terrific method to raise brand awareness and sales, but there are a lot of things to think about before you get started. The first thing to remember is that Amazon cares about the success of your deal. They keep note of everything and use it to decide whether or not to provide you with comparable possibilities in the future.
When your deals are successful, Amazon compensates you by favouring your deals over those of competitors. If you run two successful Lightning Deals on the same product, for example, Amazon is likely to give your next deal on this product better placement and visibility — at no additional cost.
If your Lighting Deal fails, Amazon may not make this product eligible for another Lighting Deal in the future. As a result, it’s critical to plan ahead of time and evaluate all of the aspects that influence whether a Lightning Deal succeeds or fails.
When should I take advantage of Lightning Deals?
When you want to develop long-term success for a product rather than just a short-term sales spike, you should consider hosting a Lightning Deal.
Lightning Deals are frequently misunderstood as a quick and easy strategy to increase profit. While a successful bargain will raise an item’s sales, it usually does not result in a significant rise in profit. Lightning Deals can be quite costly. In addition to the price for hosting the promotion, you’re also giving a discounted product, lowering your ROI even further. If you’re looking for a quick buck, Lightning Deals aren’t the way to go.
When used as part of a bigger strategy, Lightning Deals are far more effective. One of the most significant advantages of these campaigns is their capacity to improve organic search placement, which can have a far larger impact on overall sales. Successful agreements have an instant influence on conversion rate and sales velocity, two of the most essential characteristics considered by Amazon’s search algorithm.
When you have a qualified product that can profit from a Lightning Deal, you should consider running one. I’ll go into this in more detail in the following question, but Lightning Deals are often great for things that are selling well but need a little extra help to reach their full potential.
Lightning Deals can help you enhance discoverability, increase organic search placement, and attract new consumers.
Are you eligible to create an Amazon Lightning Deal?
Most sellers can take advantage of Amazon Lightning Deals. Alcoholic beverages, for example, may not be eligible for Lightning Deals. Furthermore, used items are not included in the bargains.
To be qualified, you must meet certain requirements. The following are requirements for sellers:
- Have at least a 3.5-star overall seller rating
- Produce five pieces of seller feedback per month.
- Be a professional seller rather than a one-person shop.
In addition to the aforementioned requirements, you must ensure that the campaigns you build for the same product do not overlap.
You will not be able to apply for the deals if you do not match the requirements. Also, if Amazon rejects your Lightning Deal, your inventory threshold could be one of the reasons. Because Amazon’s minimum quantity of a product can change at any time, you’ll need to update your amounts accordingly.
Is there a fee for Amazon’s Lightning Deals?
Yes, once you’ve successfully submitted a Lightning Deal, Amazon will charge you a fee. One of the most typical criteria impacting the pricing of your Deal is the ‘date range.’
Go to Seller Central > Reports > Payments > Transaction View > Service Fees to see your fee details.
Keep in mind that just because a product is featured on Lightning Deal doesn’t mean it will do well. Amazon will charge you whether or not your offer is successful. If you or Amazon cancels the deal before the stated start time, Amazon will not charge you.
What schedule and pricing should I choose?
Amazon will establish a minimum discount for your goods when creating a Lightning Deal. In the vast majority of cases, this discount will suffice. However, during competitive occasions like Prime Day, you’ll want to provide a greater discount to enhance your chances of higher placement and visibility from Amazon, as well as to attract customers who are expecting better-than-usual prices.
You only have a limited amount of influence over the timing of your Lightning Deal. You get to choose the week, but Amazon gets to choose the day and time your sale runs.
With this in mind, a Lightning Deal should be scheduled during your busiest season. A company that sells pool equipment, for example, will be more successful if it runs a promotion during the summer. Examine your product sales data to see when buyers are more inclined to buy your stuff.
There have been differing surveys on which days of the week Amazon receives the most traffic. Tuesday and Saturday are suggested by some, while Sunday and Monday are claimed by others. With over two billion monthly visitors, I’ve found that any day of the week is an excellent day to sell on Amazon.
The Advantages of Amazon Lightning Deals
Amazon’s Lightning Deals page is one of the most visited. The Lightning Prices concept is to create micro-windows for shoppers to find great deals on things they wish to buy.
When you use Lightning Deals, you can:
- Boost your sales.
- Quickly reduce inventory
- Increase brand recognition
- Increase the number of people who see your ad.
Have an Amazon sales history and at least a three-star rating.
Include as many different versions as you can.
It must not be a limited product or one that is offensive, embarrassing, or improper.
In all regions, you must be Prime eligible.
To be in brand-new condition.
Comply with the policies governing customer product reviews.
Follow pricing policies and have a current reference price.
If your Lightning Deal is turned down, you might be able to improve it by adding additional options, increasing the number, or offering a higher discount.
It’s also not uncommon for Amazon to make a mistake, as many vendors are aware. You can appeal to the Amazon Deals team or contact Seller Support if you’re certain your Lightning Deal satisfies the basic standards.
Why was my Lightning Deal rejected by Amazon?
Your Lightning Deal may be denied on rare occasions, with the notice “This SKU does not match the minimal requirements to be part of the Lightning Deal.” Inventory thresholds are a common reason for trades being denied. After you submit the deal, Amazon may raise the minimum amount, and you will need to alter the number you are giving.
Amazon may also reject an offer if the featured item fails to match the criteria (even after initially showing the product as available for a Lightning Deal). Products must meet the following requirements in order to be considered:
- Have an Amazon sales history and at least a three-star rating.
- Include as many different versions as you can.
- It must not be a limited product or one that is offensive, embarrassing, or improper.
- In all regions, you must be Prime eligible.
- To be in brand-new condition.
- Comply with the policies governing customer product reviews.
- Follow pricing policies and have a current reference price.
If your Lightning Deal is turned down, you might be able to improve it by adding additional options, increasing the number, or offering a higher discount.
It’s also not uncommon for Amazon to make a mistake, as many vendors are aware. You can appeal to the Amazon Deals team or contact Seller Support if you’re certain your Lightning Deal satisfies the basic standards.
Is there a difference in how Lightning Deals function for events like Prime Day and Black Friday?
Although Lightning Deals function in a similar way throughout Prime Day and Cyber Week (Black Friday and the days after it), there are a few key variations to keep in mind. To begin with, it is more expensive. Instead of $150, running a Lightning Deal during Prime Day week will cost you $300 and $500 on the day of the event. On Prime Day, Lightning Deals are only available to Prime subscribers.
Furthermore, Prime Day and Cyber Week are two of the most anticipated online shopping days of the year, which means greater seller competition as well as ad bidding on target keywords. Because more corporations are becoming aware of their purchasing power, advertising spending for these events are increasing significantly (Prime Day produced $10.4 billion in 2020 over a 24-hour period).
You must provide a higher discount than usual to run a Lighting Deal that jumps out during Prime Day or Cyber Week. The best prices get first attention on Amazon, especially during major events. 15% discount isn’t going to cut it, and your deal is likely to get lost in the shuffle.
I also advise you to promote your bargain far more aggressively than you would during non-sale events. During Prime Day and Cyber Week, your Lightning Deal should be part of a much wider and more thorough marketing effort. This includes the following:
- During the weeks running up to the sale, promote your brand, products, and special offers.
- Increasing the effectiveness of advertising efforts on the day of the event.
- Analyze the data to see what you can do to maximize any organic search placement improvements for your products.
As previously said, in the weeks following a Lightning Deal, brands often experience a halo effect. This is particularly true for offers offered during Prime Day and Cyber Week.
Overall, running a good sale during events like Prime Day is significantly more difficult and expensive, but if you have the resources and are willing to put in the effort, it may be well worth it.
Is it worthwhile to invest in Lightning Deals?
The visibility of the goods you promoted rises when you create a Lightning Deal on Amazon.
The following are some of the reasons why Lightning Deals boost visibility:
- The deals are kept on their own page.
- The Lightning Deal label increases the visibility of the deal’s merchandise.
Your sales will be boosted by the Lightning Deals. It does, however, come at the cost of your profit margins. The time and day you create the Lightning Deal has an impact on these deals. On the other side, you have a limited impact on the campaign’s success.
You must also select the products that can be employed in such campaigns with care. The Lightning Deals are not suitable for all products. In general, the 80/20 rule is a superior strategy to choose products: choose 20% of your portfolio’s products that bring in 80% of your sales.
Finally, you may check your performance in Seller Central’s ‘Manage Deals’ section.
What went wrong with my Amazon Lightning Deal?
For a variety of reasons, Lightning Deals can fail. One of the most typical mistakes is choosing an excessively large maximum amount. A successful Lightning Promotion, according to Amazon, implies you sold most or all of the maximum amount allocated to your deal. This means you’ll have to consider carefully about how many goods you think you’ll be able to sell. If you set a limit of 200 items and only sell 50, Amazon will consider your deal a failure because only 25% of your inventory was sold.
Another common error made by merchants when conducting Lightning Deals is promoting a niche product that does not appeal to a large number of people. Remember that the success of your bargain will determine if Amazon will allow you to run another promotion in the future. You should choose things that you are confident will sell.
A bad trade might also be caused by poor timing and insufficient advertisement. Don’t run a Lightning Deal during the off-season if your products are seasonal. The goal is to sell 100 percent of your maximum quantity, therefore run your bargain during your peak sales period.
Also, use an optimized Sponsored Product ad to promote your deal. Additional marketing can mean the difference between a successful Lightning Deal and a failure.
Conclusion
It is possible to succeed on Amazon without using Lightning Deals. It is, nevertheless, an excellent strategy to increase your sales velocity. Lightning Deals might help some firms win new customers, but they can also be a costly error for others. So be strategic about how you time your specials and how you use these promos. We hope you found this article to be informative.
