The annual Prime Day sale kicked off yesterday. After a day and a night, the results of Amazon sellers have also been released. After experiencing the wave of titles and the repeated "beating" of the epidemic, compared to the lively Prime Day in previous years, the whole circle is relatively calm this year, but it is low-key to clear inventory and ensure profits.
But there are also a few peculiar lights in the calm, such as the turbulent Japan station, the mediocre European station, and the record of 20,000 orders at sunrise. And the polarization of sellers is becoming more and more obvious, especially in the United States.
A seller in the United States and Asia said that this year is a record-breaking Prime Day, and 5,000+ orders won BS in one fell swoop. "The power of the Prime Day spike is really extraordinary. It's the first time to experience 4-digit happiness."
1. The ice and fire of the European station and the Japanese station
Due to the sluggish overall sales of sellers in the first half of the year, the number of sites covered by Prime Day this year has reached 24, which can be said to be the largest one over the years, and sellers still have a lot of expectations.
According to JPMorgan Chase's forecast, from July 12 to 13, Amazon's Prime Day event will bring its incremental revenue of 3.8 billion US dollars, up 7% from a year ago; total Prime Day event revenue is expected to increase by 5% to $5.6 billion.
From the time point of view, at 23:00 on July 11 (Beijing time), the Amazon Japan station promotion will start at the earliest. Judging from the feedback from the current sellers, the performance of the Japanese station this year seems to be particularly dazzling, and many sellers have posted enviable records.
A Japanese station seller said in the group that the sales reached thousands of orders that day. There are also many Japanese station sellers who revealed that the sales of Prime Day have doubled compared to last year, and the traffic is quite large.
Another seller who works in unpopular categories in Japan told Hugo Cross-border that the sales of niche products in Japan are relatively stable throughout the year, and big promotions will increase, but the biggest orders and traffic are Christmas and New Years, because Japan The unique gift-giving culture makes buyers who do not usually shop online buy unique gifts online at the end of the year.
Compared with the hotness of the Japanese station, the sellers of this year's European station are a little colder. Not only is the order small and touching, but the euro exchange rate has fallen below the bottom, which can be said to be worse.
During the North American trading session on July 12, the euro fell by 1.5% against the dollar to the 1.0032 level, just a line away from parity. The last time EUR/USD reached this low was 20 years ago in 2002.
Some European sellers said that the F5 did not see a change in the order volume after pressing it badly, which is a proper philanthropist. "In addition to allowing us to burn more advertising budget, Prime Day remains unchanged in terms of sales. I can't feel the atmosphere of Prime Day at all, and it is even worse than the domestic double 11."
Some sellers bluntly said that it is not recommended to maintain the European station as the focus of maintenance, and even use the "old-fashioned dragon clock" to describe the European market, "It is recommended that the proportion of Europe should not exceed 50%. On the one hand, the taxation, laws and regulations of the European station are updated too quickly. The cost of sellers is getting higher and higher, as long as you want to check, you can find the terms to punish you. On the other hand, the European market is small and fragmented, and the exchange rate and market risks are not proportional to profits.”
2. "Philanthropists" are still active
If you don't do charity, others won't do it? A seller found out that someone was selling a surveillance camera for $1.99 a piece. What kind of operation is this?
Indeed, many sellers complained. This year, there seem to be more "philanthropists" on Amazon than in previous years. On the first day of Prime Day, Amazon's Charity Conference officially opened.
According to a seller, some popular pet products and remote sensing aircraft have amazing discounts, which are almost like giving away money. "In order to clear the inventory, a peer set a 50% discount, which is too cruel."
"Our top product category, once TOP100 occupied more than 20 spots, now there are only a dozen or so, and more and more philanthropists have entered. The cost of getting the goods for dozens of dollars, the picture A+ is all done. It's beautiful, and then the operation is as fierce as a tiger. In the end, it only earns five yuan (RMB), and some even have to subsidize it. It's really worrying. Now it's time to see how long those philanthropists can live. Another seller said helplessly.
In addition, a picture passed to multiple seller circles yesterday also made everyone see the terrible involution. According to the picture, after the big promotion started, a cross-border e-commerce company asked employees to change their IPs and desperately clicked on the advertisements of their peers to increase the advertising consumption of competing products. Regardless of whether it is effective or not, this practice is malicious competition.
Some sellers speak bluntly. "There is a problem with the company. If you don't improve yourself, you will do this kind of small action."
3. The polarization of sellers is more obvious
Although this year's Prime Day, sellers may feel deserted than in previous years, but there seems to be no big obstacle to strong sales. A cross-border big seller posted Prime Day's record on social platforms, with more than 20,000 orders for two consecutive days, which is really envious of others.
However, as small and medium-sized sellers, although Prime Day is an excellent time to clear inventory every year, due to cost issues, they are more concerned about how to maintain profits on Prime Day this year.
One seller told Hugo Cross-border that many brands are offering smaller discounts this year than in 2021 due to rising costs. In order to preserve profits, many Amazon merchants around them choose not to participate in the Prime Day sale, because it is too costly to offer deep discounts on Amazon and then pay higher advertising costs. "And other platforms are also launching huge discounts during this time period, such as Walmart and Target. If you add more discounts at this time, it is likely to lose everything."
Another senior seller pointed out that there are still many uncertainties in the second half of the year, including fluctuations in shipping costs and exchange rates and the recurrence of the epidemic. Sellers who still have resources and strength will invest heavily to seize the market, while sellers who are eager to ensure profits will be more conservative. As a result, the polarization of the seller group will become more and more obvious.
But overall, there are still expectations for Amazon and Prime Day sellers. Research firm eMarketer expects US and global consumers to spend $7.76 billion and $12.52 billion on Amazon, respectively, during the two-day sale, an increase of about 17% over the same period last year. Still exist.
In addition, Amazon plans to host its second shopping event for Prime members in the fourth quarter of this year, which will be the first time Amazon has hosted two Prime Days in the same year. This means that sellers will have a second chance to explode orders and sprint. What they need to do next is to summarize the experience of this Prime Day and welcome the next big promotion.
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