The fourth quarter has arrived, and with it comes some of the busiest shopping events of the season! From Prime’s Big Deal Days to Turkey 5 and beyond, brands and consumers alike are going to have all eyes on e-commerce sites. From November 1 through December 24, 2022, US Retail Sales increased 7.6% YoY, according to PMG’s 2023 Holiday Shopping Trends & Insights Analysis. With an even bigger Q4 expected this year, how can brands finish strong? We’ve compiled a checklist for brands to use primarily through November and December’s tentpole events on Amazon (for those looking for a checklist on Prime Big Deal Days coming October 10th and 11th, click here!)

3 Weeks Before Turkey 5 (Week of 10/30)

• Confirm November budgets across all channels and assemble a budget analysis ahead of the holiday season.
  • Anticipate spending levels increasing by 2-3x/ day for Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday, with around 1.5-2x/day for Saturday and Sunday in between. 
  • To anticipate this, budgets need to be adjusted prior to the period of increased volume to prevent any campaigns from budgeting out before the day’s end!
• Determine what goals you are attempting to achieve- ensure that these goals are factored into your plan
• Utilize last year’s data when determining goals for this year. (Use our free Amazon Brand Leaderboard!)

2 Weeks Before Turkey 5 (Week of 11/6)

• Confirm all of the ASINs that will be running deals during Black Friday and Cyber Weekend.
  • Continue to monitor inventory levels of any ASINs running deals. If inventory is running low, a quantity adjustment may be necessary.
• Finalize any changes to your storefront. Ensure all listings and PDPs are accurate for customers doing a majority of their ‘window shopping’ in this time period. CTR will likely decrease in this period, while impressions will be up. 
• Review budget pacing and determine if an incremental budget will be needed.

1 Week Before Turkey 5 (Week of 11/13)

• Confirm advertising coverage of promotional products.
• Check over the deal details for specific ASINs, and their inventory levels. 
• Monitor your account’s health.

The Week of and During Turkey 5

• Ensure that all ASINs running deals are appearing in SERPs at expected prices.
• Ensure ad coverage is running for promoted products.
• Review all campaign budgets- are any high sales-driving campaigns approaching budget limitations?
• Keep monitoring inventory levels, especially during the events.
  • For understocked items- Try to pull back on spending.
• Continuously monitor the PDP, ‘walking the store,’ and ensuring all listings are accurate.
• Identify any low or high-performing campaigns and adjust as needed.

Weeks Following Turkey 5 in December

• Complete an analysis of your Turkey 5 Performance- what were some top-selling products, highest search terms, or high-ranking keywords? Use this information when creating December strategies. 
• Take inventory of stock levels.

Do you have lingering questions about October’s Prime Big Deal Days, or Black Friday/ Cyber Monday? Email us at hello@momentumcommerce.com.  In the meantime, make sure to dive into our free Amazon Data Tools!