E-retailers that sell through the Amazon.com Inc.’s marketplace say they expect the frenzy Amazon is drumming up with Prime Day will raise their overall sales today.
WATCH: Internet Retailer’s Allison Enright talk about Prime Day on the “Today” show
During the first Prime Day sales event on July 15, 2015 (a Wednesday), marketplace seller Tech Armor’s sales were five times greater than normal, co-founder and general manager Joseph Jaconi says. “We were blown away,” he says. “We were hoping they’d run Prime Day every month. We are expecting the same increase this year.”
Tech Armor sells screen protectors and other consumer electronics accessories through multiple marketplaces—including those operated by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Jet.com Inc. and eBay Inc.—and its own site. Jaconi says it sells the most through Amazon, where it lists its products across all marketplace sites Amazon operates globally, except Amazon.cn, Amazon’s Chinese site.
Like last Prime Day, today Tech Armor will have several of its top-selling products featured as Prime Deals. “We have some really deep discounts—deeper than we’ve ever done before,” Jaconi says. Further, it is promoting a coupon code on Facebook and via email that Amazon shoppers can enter at checkout to take 25% off Tech Armor products that aren’t featured as Prime Day deals. Tech Armor set up the coupon code with Amazon through SellerCentral, the portal where Amazon marketplace sellers manage their listings. “We realize it is a competitive space and a lot of other folks are doing the same, so we are giving the best effort we can to get the word out,” he says.
Today is the second go-around for Prime Day for David Rifkin, president and CEO of Microfiber Products Inc., as well. He says sales on Amazon doubled on Prime Day a year ago, but it wasn’t so much from the Prime Deals it arranged with Amazon. “The reality is the Prime Deals didn’t prove any value to my company last year, however our revenue doubled organically through Prime Day,” he says. Microfiber Products is running fewer Prime Deals this year than last, and “we have no big hopes about how our deals are going to do, but we do expect a big surge in revenue. It will be a big day for us for the fact that we are on Amazon. There’s nothing magical or secret about it.”
Rifkin says he’s adjusted his repricing software to be “pretty aggressive” on pricing, so Microfiber Products’ pricing on products may change throughout the day depending on how other marketplace merchants adjust their prices.
Rifkin’s sales expectations aren’t contained to Amazon either. He says he expects sales coming through other marketplaces Microfiber Products sell through to rise. “We are expecting a huge uptick for Jet.com and other [marketplaces] we’re on,” he says. “The other retailers are looking for big days too. It’ll be a big day everywhere.”
Amazon is the No. 1 e-retailer in the Internet Retailer 2016 Top 500 Guide.
Read Internet Retailer’s latest Prime Day coverage here.
Read what social media users are saying about #PrimeDay here.
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