TechBytes: Staying Competitive on Amazon Prime Day

Tuesday, July 12 marks the return of Amazon Prime Day.



Based on last year’s results, Amazon will grab a sizable chunk of all online sales that day. Special “countdown deals” starting July 5 will also help funnel more e-commerce traffic than normal in Amazon’s direction. Walmart is countering with its own July online sales event built around its ShippingPass free shipping program.



Unless you are a major entity like Walmart, you cannot possibly hope to beat Amazon at its own game. However, there are a few steps other online retailers can take to help stay competitive in the face of a major consumer offensive from the world’s leading e-tailer.



For example, while Amazon is offering discounts on a staggering array of items, Prime Day deals are not targeted to individual users. Online retailers seeking to maintain customer loyalty during Prime Day should double down on promotions and offers tailored to shoppers’ established browsing and purchase history. Especially where social media chatter about last year’s Prime Day included complaints about less desirable deals such as socks and Adam Sandler DVDs, there is room to compete with Amazon on discount quality, as opposed to quantity.



Depending on the efficiency and profitability of your order fulfillment and distribution process, there is also room to compete with Amazon in the area of free shipping. To obtain discount prices and free shipping during Prime Day, consumers must be Prime members. The same is true of Walmart’s ShippingPass promotion.



Even though Amazon and Walmart are both offering free 30-day trials of their paid loyalty programs, customers still have to be a member of or join Prime or ShippingPass to participate. By reducing or even waiving shipping fees or minimum purchase requirements during Prime Day, digital retailers can entice customers who may not feel like going through the process of registering for yet another online membership.



Conversely, online retailers that offer some type of loyalty program can counter Prime Day with special promotions that reward loyalty members. This recognizes the importance of your most devoted shoppers during a time when they have every reason to defect to Amazon, even if just for a day. Also, much like Prime Day is also designed to boost Prime membership, a promotion targeted to loyalty participants could offer the side benefit of a sudden surge in applicants.



Online retailers who also operate stores have a unique opportunity to provide an alternative to Prime Day. As great as two-day free shipping is, it does not beat the immediacy of picking up an item at a local store the same day at no extra charge. Omnichannel retailers can also provide seamless promotions such as targeted in-store mobile discounts.



Prime Day may be a day of celebration for Amazon and online consumers, but is not so happy for the rest of the e-commerce world. However, with proper planning and execution, online retailers can avoid the worst of the holiday blues.