Latest / Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast / Last-Minute eCommerce Prep Before Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Deals, and Target Circle Week

Transcript

Last-Minute eCommerce Prep Before Amazon Prime Day, Walmart Deals, and Target Circle Week · Selling on Giants: The eCommerce Marketplace Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Selling on Giants.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Mr.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Will, and this week we are staying focused because we are officially one week out from the biggest promotional window of the summer.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Amazon Prime Day runs June 23rd through June 26th.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_00: Target Circle Deal Days runs that same window.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart deals starts one day earlier on June 22nd and runs through June 28th.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: That means the customer is not thinking this is an Amazon event.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: The customer is thinking everything is on sale.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: They are comparing Amazon, Walmart, Target brand websites, Google shopping, email offers, and whatever gets pushed in front of them on Meta or TikTok.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: They do not care that your Amazon team, Walmart team, DTC team, and retail media team all have different dashboards.
• 0:50
  SPEAKER_00: They see one shopping moment and they are deciding who gives them the clearest offer with the least friction.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: So the job this week is not big strategic planning.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: That window has closed.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: Inventory should already be moving, promotions should already be approved, budgets should already be aligned.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: This is the final cleanup week.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: Remove friction, tighten hero listings, cut ad waste, protect inventory, confirm offers, check pricing, make sure the team knows who owns what when something breaks, because something usually does.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: The brands that win Prime Day are not always the brands with the deepest discounts.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: They are the brands with the cleanest execution.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: A deep discount does not help if the listing does not convert, the buy box is unstable, the campaign runs out of budget by noon, the product goes out of stock, or the customer lands on a detail page that looks like it was built by committee and approved by exhaustion.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Promotions amplify fundamentals.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: They do not replace them.
• 1:53
  SPEAKER_00: Let's start with Amazon, because Amazon is still the center of gravity.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing I would do this week is audit every Hero ASIN detail page as if I had never seen the brand before.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Not like the founder, not like the agency, not like the internal team that already believes the product is great, like a shopper with 15 tabs open and no loyalty to your internal story?
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: Go to your top performing ASINs and ask the obvious questions.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: Is the main image actually best in class, or is it just familiar?
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: Are the reviews competitive?
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_00: Is pricing aligned with the market?
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Is A content live, complete, and useful?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Do the first three images explain the product, the benefit, and the reason to believe?
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Does the listing make the purchase feel easy, or does it force the shopper to work too hard?
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: That matters because prime day traffic is expensive.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: If CPCs rise and conversion is weak, the account does not just become inefficient.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: It becomes inefficient faster.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: You do not need to rebuild your entire content system this week, but you can still fix obvious problems.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_00: Swap weak secondary images, tighten confusing copy, check mobile, make sure the promotional offer is visible, confirm the store and A content are not broken.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: This is not the week for perfection.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is the week for removing stupid reasons shoppers do not buy.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: The second Amazon move is pulling search term reports from the last 30 days and cutting waste before traffic gets more expensive.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Look for high spend, non-converting terms.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: Look for broad match traffic that drifted too far away from purchase intent.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Look for duplicate keyword coverage where campaigns are competing with each other.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Look for irrelevant terms that should have been negated already.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is not the week to be sentimental about keywords.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: If a term has been spending and not converting, it does not suddenly become a winner because Prime Day has a banner.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: Most of the time it just becomes a more expensive mistake.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: The fastest way to improve efficiency before the event is often to stop funding what already told you it does not work.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: The third Amazon move is placement coverage.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: Sponsored products are still the workhorse, but Prime Day shoppers do not move in a straight line.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: They search, compare, watch videos, click competitors, browse deals, check product pages, and come back later.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: If your entire strategy depends on catching one perfect search at one perfect moment, you are undercovered.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: Review top of search.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Review sponsored brands.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Review sponsored brand video.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Review product page placements.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you have video that clearly shows the product, the problem, and the benefit, this is the week to make sure it is active where it makes sense.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_00: If you have a brand store that supports Discovery, make sure sponsored brands are not just sending people into a dead end experience.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: The fourth Amazon move is to review, subscribe, and save, bundles, cross-sell paths, and store navigation.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Day brings first-time buyers.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The mistake is treating them like one-time transactions.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you are in supplements, beauty, pet, household, grocery, or any replenishable category, subscribe and save needs to be reviewed.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Is the offer clear?
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_00: Is the discount competitive?
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a reason for the customer to turn one promotional purchase into repeat behavior?
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: Brand store navigation matters too.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: If a shopper clicks through, can they easily find best sellers, bundles, routines, and complementary products?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: A good store should guide the shopper through the portfolio.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: It should make the next product obvious.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: The easiest way to improve lifetime value is before the customer leaves.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth Amazon move is inventory alignment, review inventory by advertised ASIN, not just by catalog, protect the hero products first, protect the products with the best conversion, strongest reviews, healthiest margins, and safest inventory positions.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing kills event momentum faster than pushing traffic into an ASIN that runs out of stock halfway through the week.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: You lose sales, lose rank, pause campaigns, and then spend money trying to rebuild after the event.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: If inventory is tight, do not spread budget evenly across the catalog because it looks fair on a spreadsheet.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: Marketplaces do not reward fairness, they reward focus.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: Now Walmart.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart deals starts June 22nd and runs through June 28th.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: So Walmart is not sitting on the sideline.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is competing for the same shopper during the same deal window.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: The first thing to check is buy box ownership.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: Pricing, shipping speed, fulfillment performance, and inventory availability all matter.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: If the buy box is unstable, the rest of the plan is already weaker.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: Then check Walmart Connect budgets and coverage.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of brands underinvest on Walmart because Amazon gets the attention.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: But if traffic spikes and campaigns hit budget caps early, you are handing demand to competitors.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Review sponsored products, search coverage, category placement opportunities, and daily budget pacing.
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_00: This is not a normal traffic week, so do not manage it like one.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: Listing quality matters on Walmart too.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Images, attributes, descriptions, rich media, and category placement all need a quick check.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_00: Higher traffic does not fix weak content.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: It exposes it.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are using WFS, confirm inventory levels, replenishment timing, and sell-through expectations before the event starts.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart shoppers are value conscious and they compare aggressively, so pricing has to stay competitive without destroying the margin.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Target Circle Deal Days runs June 23rd through June 26th, which means it overlaps directly with Prime Day.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: If your brand is active through Target and Roundell, this is another place where budget coverage and SKU discipline matter.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure Roundell budgets are built for event traffic, not normal traffic.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: Focus spend on hero SKUs, promotional items, best sellers and products with strong inventory positions.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: This is not the week to evenly fund every product the team likes.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: This is a week for efficiency.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Confirm circle deal days participation, promotional pricing, featured products, and eligibility.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Then audit product content and inventory availability.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Small content problems become bigger when traffic increases.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Out-of-stock problems become louder when demand is peaking.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the brand website cannot be ignored.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: During Prime Day week, shoppers compare marketplace pricing against your website.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some customers will check whether your site has bundles, better offers, better shipping terms, or a clearer brand experience.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: So make the website easy to shop.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_00: A simple summer sale landing page can help.
• 9:27
  SPEAKER_00: Feature best sellers, promotional products, bundles, and key collections.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_00: Reduce clicks, reduce confusion.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: You should also build email and SMS capture before the event starts.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Acquisition costs go up during promotional periods, so every visitor matters.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Use retargeting before peak traffic hits.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Retarget product viewers, card abandoners, recent visitors, and existing customers.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Do not wait until the event is live to start building the audience.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: And think carefully about bundles instead of only deep discounts.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Bundles can protect margin, raise average order value, and make the offer feel different without training customers to wait for a deeper price cut.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Not every promotion has to be a race to the bottom.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sometimes the better offer is more value, not less price.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_00: The final piece is team readiness.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: Before June 23rd, every brand should know who owns budget pacing, inventory monitoring, buy box checks, pricing, promotion issues, reporting, and escalation.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_00: Who can approve extra budget if performance is strong?
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: Who decides when to pull back?
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: Who is watching inventory risk?
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_00: Who checks whether promotions are actually live?
• 10:46
  SPEAKER_00: If the answer is we will figure it out when it happens, that is not flexibility.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_00: That is a plan with missing parts.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: This is where we spend a lot of time with brands at Bellivix.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: Growth during major retail events is not just about turning up ads.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: Bellavics has helped brands sell over$500 million on Amazon, and we are a verified ad partner.
• 11:10
  SPEAKER_00: But the real work is helping brands turn marketplace complexity into a clear operating plan.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_00: That means knowing which ASINs deserve budget, where margin supports promotion, where inventory should constrain spend, and how to keep the team focused when the traffic gets expensive.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_00: If your brand is trying to win across Amazon, Walmart, and broader marketplaces, and the event calendar is creating more chaos than clarity, visit Bellovic.com.
• 11:39
  SPEAKER_00: Now, a warning: last-minute prep does not mean last-minute panic.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: You are not fixing years of review weakness in one week.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: You are not turning a bad product into a category leader because you added a coupon.
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: You are not rebuilding the entire catalog before June 23rd, but you can still make the account sharper.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can clean ad waste, you can protect hero skews, you can improve the first impression, you can confirm the offer, you can prevent budget caps, you can protect inventory, you can decide what not to push.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: That last part matters.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: Strong operators know what to ignore.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Weak operators treat event week like a chance to do everything.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Strong operators know where the money is made, where the margin is protected, which products deserve attention, and which products should sit quietly in the corner until the event is over.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: And please make sure the reporting is ready before the event starts.
• 12:35
  SPEAKER_00: Sales matter, but sales alone are not enough.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Watch conversion rate, watch CPCs, watch ACOS, watch tacos, watch ROWAS, watch inventory, watch buy box stability, watch budget caps, watch promotional performance, watch whether the event is creating profitable customer acquisition or just expensive volume with a better headline.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_00: Prime day behavior can be uneven, so do not overreact to every dashboard movement.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: Some shoppers research before buying, some categories spike early, some build later, competitors change pricing, budgets move, retargeting may pick up after the event.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_00: The team should be responsive, not emotional.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: There is a difference between managing the event and flinching through it.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: When you connect the whole week together, the bigger picture is clear.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Prime Day has become the summer version of Black Friday.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is not just Amazon anymore.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: Walmart is there, Target is there, DTC brands are there, retail media platforms are there.
• 13:39
  SPEAKER_00: The customer sees one promotional window, and the brands that win will be the ones that make the buying decision easiest.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: The final week is not about doing more.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is about tightening what matters.
• 13:52
  SPEAKER_00: Protect the hero ASINs, cut ad waste, confirm the offer, check the buy box, watch inventory, keep campaigns live, make the website easy to shop, capture the customer, prepare the team, execute the plan.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: Promotions amplify fundamentals, they do not replace them.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: If this episode helped you focus your final prime day prep, share it with someone on your team before the traffic hits.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are getting value from selling on Giants, take a second to leave a review so more sellers can find the show and stay ahead of what is actually changing.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mr.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_00: Will here, signing off from Selling on Giants.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_00: Let's keep building.