We recently launched the second report in our Amazon benchmarking series, this time analysing the efforts of 50 brands from five categories selling on the German instance of Amazon. In this blog, we outline some of the key findings from this piece of research and provide you with tips to increase your sales on Amazon in Germany.
Implement an ongoing content optimisation strategy
Product content determines placement in search results. Relevant and complete information on product pages helps brands to increase their products’ visibility in search results and also sales conversion. Meanwhile, optimising your images on product listings is crucial to drive conversion and increase your sales on Amazon in Germany.
Significant improvements could be made to the product information and imagery provided by many of the brands reviewed. Only six of the 50 brands analysed were making proper use of the product bullet points that allow features and functionality of a product to be highlighted. Similarly, only 11 of the 50 brands were using simple text on secondary images for all products, to call out product details.
Best-practice imagery will allow you to stand out from the millions of other listings on the marketplace. Brands should consider implementing an ongoing product content optimisation strategy to ensure that product content drives sales conversion. Insight to amend product content should be drawn from negative reviews and customer questions.
Good customer service is crucial to increase your sales on Amazon in Germany
Customer questions help you to understand what your audience wants to understand about your product. You should consider whether to add information that is requested to your listings. As part of our study, our researchers evaluated customer service management on listings.
The majority of brands we scored had a customer question on at least one of the product pages we analysed. However, 32% did not reply to any customer questions, reducing the likelihood of visitors to those pages completing a purchase. We recommend that brands address questions themselves; rather than leaving other customers or third parties to answer, as they may not give the correct response.
Good reviews are key to building your brand’s reputation on Amazon. Customer reviews and ratings determine where your products rank in search results, and help to improve conversion rates. Amazon previously allowed brands and sellers to respond to negative reviews, but as this feature has now been removed it’s even more crucial to ensure product descriptions are accurate to prevent negative reviews.
Competing against third-party sellers on Amazon
Competition is fierce on Amazon.de for the top brands. All of the brands we reviewed have products that are sold directly by Amazon, and we were keen to see how well brands were competing against third-party sellers who may also be listing and selling the same products.
Our researchers found that the number of brands with many third-party sellers offering the same products was extremely high. While competition can be good for consumers, it also creates the risk of a poor perception of the brand.
42% of brands in our study had an average of six or more sellers on their top three listings. In addition, 20% of brands had third parties winning the Buy Box on at least some of their top three products.
We recommend brands ensure they have a strong seller proposition in place in terms of price, fulfilment, and marketing to maximise their chance of winning the coveted Buy Box over third-party sellers.
Whilst many brands were seen to be getting the basics right on the marketplace, a full analysis of the results from our study shows that even brands with a relatively strong presence on Amazon.de could improve their sales performance further with a number of relatively simple changes.
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