The last couple of years have been a whirlwind, to say the least. It has left many wondering, “What does this year have in store for Amazon and my brand?” While the crystal ball seems to be a little hazy recently, one thing is clear: 2022 will require diligent planning. With that end in mind, let’s explore the Amazon Holiday Event Calendar for 2022 and what to expect this year.
Special Considerations for 2022
You know your product best, such as when you’re expected to have increased sales throughout the year. Whether sales are based on the season or heightened by holidays or Amazon events, it is crucial to plan ahead for those peak moments. But these are standard considerations, year in and year out. This year is expected to have its own unique challenges beyond the usual considerations.
Longer Lead Times
The supply chain is a mess. Delays in the ports and trucker shortages are still wreaking havoc on brands. While we can all hope that these issues will ease throughout the year, it is unrealistic to expect them to resolve any time soon. This means that all lead time estimates need to be extended. You’ll need to start planning production and logistics 2–4 weeks earlier than you traditionally would.
If you ship your goods from Asia to other marketplaces, this may be the year you want to look into the Amazon Global Logistics program to see if it fits your brands needs. Kaspien has seen encouraging lead time improvements and cost savings with this program compared to traditional shipping methods.
Amazon Quantity Limits
The slowed supply chain caused many sellers to flood FBA warehouses, unsure as to when they might run out of stock or when they would be able to replenish from overseas. This caused Amazon to enact Amazon Quantity Limits (AQLs).
FBA storage limits are calculated considering the following factors:
- Your sales volume, including seasonality
- Available fulfillment center capacity
- Your historical Inventory Performance Index (IPI) scores
On January 1, 2022, Amazon reduced the IPI score threshold from 450 to 400, but space is still very tight and there’s no guarantee they won’t go back up again. Since the start of the pandemic, Amazon has been frantically expanding their network of FBA warehouses, but relief may not last. As the saying goes, “Hope for the best. Plan for the worst.” Exceeding your AQLs will result in losing your ability to create new inventory shipments and refusal of excess goods upon arrival to FBA.
To stay on top of these restrictions, it’s important to keep an eye on your Inventory Performance Dashboard so you know what your AQLs are and when you’re close to reaching them. If storage is getting tight and you know more is on its way, you can:
- Try to sell through your current inventory through sales and deals
- Request excess inventory sent back to you with a removal order
- Request older inventory to be disposed of with a removal order
Diversification
FBA has its advantages, but in today’s climate it also has some very big downfalls, several of which we have just finished discussing. When items go out of stock, it has repercussions on more than just sales velocity. Listing rankings, SEO rankings and IPI scores are all impacted negatively when stock is unavailable. With longer, more unpredictable lead times, fulfillment diversification is key in 2022.
Whether you have your own FBM networks or you lean on a 3PL partner such as Kaspien to extend your logistics network beyond FBA, flexibility is crucial for success on Amazon this year. Multiple fulfillment channels will safeguard your listings from out-of-stocks while you navigate the delicate balance of sales vs. restocking vs. AQLs. Not sure where to start diversifying? Let Kaspien help decipher what options fit your brand’s goals best.
Stay Up-To-Date with Listing Compliance Concerns
The pandemic changed many things across the Amazon seller experience. One notable instance is the uptick in compliance concerns. Sellers who are making small changes to their listings are encountering suppressions based on content that was already live but is now considered non-compliant. Whether you’re adding new listings or modifying existing products, it is more crucial than ever to ensure you have your compliance ducks in a row ahead of time.
As Kaspien’s Senior Compliance Specialist Michael Elwin explains, “The EPA and other regulatory agencies have brought increased pressure upon Amazon during the pandemic, forcing Amazon to be the enforcer of their regulations. A prime example is the current restrictions around pesticide claims.”
At first blush, it’s easy to overlook these rules and assume that since your products contain no pesticides, they shouldn’t be affected. However, as you dive deeper, you’ll find that these restrictions are reaching into many unexpected categories. Amazon lists the following products as a few examples of prohibited pesticide claims:
- A door knob claiming to resist bacteria
- Socks or shoes that claim antimicrobial properties
- A boat or automobile cover claiming to prevent mildew
- A mattress claiming to be antibacterial
- A dehumidifier claiming to mechanically prevent mold
- A mildew resistant shower curtain
Simply removing these claims from your listing might not be enough. Once the claim is made, the seller must provide EPA registration and documentation of clinically tested scientific proof of the validity of these claims. Alternatively, sellers can instead prove that their products neither contain pesticides nor are considered a pesticide device.
In the new year, sellers must be diligent about avoiding any claims that do not have clinical testing documentation to support them. Review the restrictions for your categories to see what has changed. Ensuring content is compliant from the start is a much shorter process than submitting content and hoping it doesn’t get shut down later. Battling suppressions can take months, and once the claim is out there, the process is infinitely harder to overcome. If you’re unsure where to start, request a free listing review from Kaspien to see how your listing stacks up against the current regulations.
Calendar of Holiday Events on Amazon
Note that events are listed in chronological order of the prep window, not necessarily the event date.
January — April
- St. Patrick’s Day: Prep Window — Mid January — Mid February. Holiday Date — March 17th
- March Madness: Prep Window — Late January — Late February. Event Date — Mar 13th — Apr 4th
- Spring Holidays: Prep Window — Early February — Beginning of April. Event Dates — Mid April
- April Fool’s Day: Prep Window — Late February — Mid March. Holiday Date — April 1st
- Mother’s Day: Prep Window — Mid March — Mid April. Holiday Date — May 8th
- Cinco de Mayo: Prep Window — Mid March — Mid April: Holiday Date — May 5th
- Graduation: Prep Window — End of March — End of June. Event Date — Varies by city and state (May-June)
- Memorial Day: Prep Window — End of March — Mid April. Holiday Date — May 30th
- Father’s Day: Prep Window — Mid April — Mid May. Holiday Date — June 19th
May — August
- Prime Day: Prep Window — As soon as the date of Prime Day is announced. Event Date — TBD
- Summer: Prep Window — Late April — Late August. Event Date — June — Aug
- 4th of July: Prep Window — Mid May — Early June. Holiday Date — July 4th
- Back to School: Prep Window — Beginning of June — Late August. Event Date — Varies by city and state (Aug — Sept)
- Labor Day: Prep Window — Early July — Early August. Holiday Date — Sept 5th
- Football Kickoff: Prep Window — Mid July — End of August. Holiday Date — Sept 9th
- Halloween: Prep Window — Beginning of August — End of October. Holiday Date — Oct 31st
September — December
- Holiday Toy List: Prep Window — Beginning of September — End of December. Release Date — Historically, late September
- Electronics Gift Guide: Prep Window — Beginning of September — End of December. Release Date — Historically, the beginning of November
- Black Friday Deals: Prep Window — Beginning of October — Beginning of November. Inventory must be in fulfillment centers by November 15th. Event Date — Nov 25th
- Cyber Monday Deals: Prep Window — Mid October — End of December. Inventory must be in fulfillment centers by November 15th. Event Date — Nov 28th
- 12 Days of Deals: Prep Window — Beginning of November — End of November. Event Date — Dec 1st — 12th
- Year End Deals: Prep Window — Beginning of November — End of November. Event Date — No specific date, usually between Dec 24th-31st
- New Year, New You: Prep Window — Beginning of December — End of December. Event Date — No specific date, generally considered as the whole of January
- Superbowl Weekend: Prep Window — Beginning of December — Mid January. Event Date — Feb 12th, 2023
- Valentine’s Day: Prep Window — Beginning of December — Mid January. Event Date — Feb 14th
Amazon’s Recommendations: How to Prepare for Events
In conjunction with the release of the Amazon 2022 Shopping Events Calendar, Amazon also provided a document containing tips for preparing for their shopping events. The guide contains many actionable ways to get the most out of the selling year. Let’s explore them now.
Promotions
Applying promotions to your listings is a great way to encourage shoppers to buy more. These incentives reward buyers with additional savings for multiples of a product or when buying in combination with your other offerings. When creating promotions, keep in mind that these can stack, so account for all promotion combinations when deciding which ones to apply. Promotion types include:
- Percentage Off: Choose a selection of products that you want to encourage customers to purchase in conjunction and a discount amount. Shoppers who purchase multiples of any one product or many products within the grouping will be rewarded with your predetermined discount.
- Buy One Get One: It’s hard to resist free! That’s why BOGO deals can be a great way to showcase new products, potentially increase the number of reviews, or sell through stock with impending long-term storage fees.
- Social Media Codes: These are codes that you can add to your external marketing efforts, such as social media posts, emails, and beyond. The customer then uses these codes at checkout to receive a discount on the designated products.
Sponsored Product Ads
The bread and butter of any Amazon advertising campaign should be Sponsored Product ads (SP ads). This is even more true during peak times in your selling calendar. This ad type appears across Amazon, including in the search engine results page (SERP) and within other listings. They look exactly like an organic search result with the exception of the small “Sponsored” label.
Placement of SP ads can be determined in one of two ways:
- Keywords: When you use specific keywords, your SP ad will show up on the SERP for customers searching those terms.
- Product: Since SP ads can also appear on Product Detail Pages, another targeting strategy involves identifying competitors and complimentary products. By targeting specific ASINs, you can place your product in front of buyers considering their options and suggest yours as an alternative solution.
Lightning Deals
Though highly competitive, Lightning Deals are a big part of major shopping events on Amazon. These deals have strict qualification requirements and provide less control over the details of the deal but can have a huge impact on sales. The deal dashboard will show you:
- What type of deals the ASIN is eligible for (7-Day Deal or Lightning Deal)
- The date range that the deal would be offered
- The price at which the product would be offered within the deal
- The minimum quantity of products that would need to be dedicated to the deal, although you can add more (once it runs out, the deal is over!)
- How much the deal will cost you to run
Customers look for these deals, knowing them to offer greatly reduced prices and spurred by the limited time and quantity. To be considered for a lightning deal, the following requirements must be met:
- Your brand must be high-performing with a proven track record
- Strong sales history
- Be willing to accept a minimum discount of 20% off either the lowest price within the last 30 days or lowest year-to-date price
- Product must have positive ratings
- Must maintain positive Seller rating
Explore Deals within the Advertising section of your Seller Central or Vendor Central account.
Double-Check Your Deals
Once you’ve reviewed your available deals, chosen which ones you’d like to run, and set them up, it’s important to continue to check on them. The high competition for deals drives Amazon to suppress deals that aren’t up to snuff. Amazon lists the following as common reasons for deal suppression:
- Price doesn’t meet the maximum allowed deal price
- Quantity doesn’t meet the minimum requirement for each ASIN in the deal
- Deal has no available inventory
- One child ASIN isn’t compliant. If this happens, the entire deal will not be compliant. Remove the child ASIN
- Deal does not have enough child ASINs to reach minimum ASIN coverage
All deal errors must be fixed at least 25 hours before the deal is scheduled to go live, so diligence is key.
Plans are Nothing. Planning is Everything
When Dwight D. Eisenhower said those wise words, he might not have been talking about running a business on Amazon, but who am I to discount his ability to see into the future? All joking aside, the only way to make sure that your 2022 is successful is to turn your plans into actions. Determine which events and holidays have the best chance of making an impact on your Amazon business and prioritize efforts and resources accordingly.
Our hope is that this calendar is something that unifies your efforts and provides a backbone to your 2022 strategy, making your brand more confident to tackle the big work of growing your business in the new year. Best of luck, from Kaspien!
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