20 Amazon Trends to Watch in 2020
Amazon has changed a lot over the years, and the tech giant continues to change as a result of improving technology. It should come as no surprise that Amazon is currently growing, and this growth will continue into 2020.
As the top ecommerce platform in the country, 95 million people visit Amazon’s site each month—and that number only accounts for people in the United States. As of now, there are more than 2.5 million active sellers on Amazon, and this number is likely to keep growing. With so many online shoppers, small- and medium-sized businesses sell more than 4000 products per minute. Looking at these numbers, Amazon presents businesses with a tremendous opportunity to grow their customer base and increase sales.
With steep competition in the Amazon marketplace, brands need to stay on top of current trends in order to maximize sales. If you are looking to grow your business in 2020, then here are 20 Amazon trends to watch in the coming year.
2020 Trends for Choosing Products That Sell
A supermarket cart loaded with cardboard boxes. Sales of goods. Concept of trade and commerce, online shopping, and high delivery order. purchasing power of the population and the state of the economy.
As a seller on Amazon, it’s important to be aware of what products are most popular. While there are many types of items that are bought and sold on Amazon every day, there are certain product types that are expected to be especially marketable.
1. Trending Product Lists Will Help Brands Find Hot Products to Sell
Sellers on Amazon appreciate the trending product lists that the website keeps. These lists work to help sellers choose products that are likely to be marketable. Brands can look in their product niche or category and see what Amazon customers are currently interested in. Bestseller lists and trending product lists will continue to be a vital tool for businesses to use in market research.
2. Electronics – Items Will Continue to Dominate Sales
As a seller on Amazon, electronic items are likely to be hot items among your customers. Currently, 18 percent of top selling products are listed in the electronics category of Amazon. Electronics are expected to continue dominating sales. Here are a few examples of popular electronic items on Amazon:
Voice assistants. Voice assistants have become extremely popular in recent years due to their convenience and ability to connect a wide range of smart home devices.
Smart home gadgets. Smart home products are exceptionally popular nowadays due to the fact that they can be controlled and monitored remotely. For example, smart thermostats, smart appliances, and even smart light bulbs have become popular in recent years.
Smartphones, computers, gaming systems, and other common electronics. As always, electronic devices in general, have been quite popular on Amazon in recent years, which is partly due to the fact that new and improved devices are frequently being created by manufacturers.
3. Health and Wellness – Amazon Will Continue to be the Preferred Channel for Buying Wellness Products
As a $4.2 trillion industry, the health and wellness industry is currently booming. Moving into 2020, Amazon is expected to continue to be customers preferred channel for buying supplements and other wellness products. Health products are also quite popular when it comes to books and other materials that are related to weight loss. These are a few examples of trending health and wellness items to watch:
Books on weight loss. Many people seek information about diets and other techniques to help them lose weight, which means that there are many of these types of products on Amazon that tend to be quite popular.
Guided weight loss programs. There are a variety of weight loss programs that use guided DVDs to instruct people on workout routines and provide dietary advice. As people become more health conscious, these products are likely to keep growing more popular.
Products related to low-carb dieting. Low-carb dieting has become quite popular in recent times, and the trend is likely to continue.
4. Toys & Games – Purchases Will Increase During the Holidays
Timing is everything when it comes to selling toys and holiday items. In fact, toy sales went up by 30 percent during the 2018 holiday season. Purchases of toys and various holiday-related items will continue to spike during the holidays. Brands can use this to their advantage by ramping up advertising on toys and games. Here are a few examples of items that are likely to become more commonly purchased around the holidays:
- Toys and games that use computer technology. As a result of the trend of smart gadgets and advances in computer technology, toys and games are becoming increasingly advanced. These new and improved toys and gadgets are currently very popular, and they’re likely to grow more popular over time.
- Action figures from popular shows. Superhero culture has taken the world by storm over the last decade. As a result, action figures from popular movies and shows are more popular than ever, and this trend is likely to continue well into the future.
5. Beauty – Consumer Spending Is Moving Online
While many consumers still buy makeup and beauty products in stores, more and more customers are buying products online. Amazon is currently the leading online retailer for beauty products in the U.S. Beauty sales are expected to continue growing in the coming year. There are certain types of beauty products that have been exceptionally popular purchases on the website. Here are a few examples of the most popular beauty products on the site:
- Quality shampoos and conditioners. Many people purchase hair care products on Amazon, and this is a trend that’s likely to continue due to the convenience of ordering these products through Amazon.
- Skincare products. High-end skin care products can be hard to purchase in major offline retail stores, but they are easy to find on Amazon. Furthermore, they can sometimes be found for a lower price than would be possible offline, which contributes to their popularity on Amazon.
- Various makeup products. Higher-end makeup products that may not be available at most offline retail stores are available online through Amazon. Due to the competition on the site between sellers, they can be found for a fairly low price.
2020 Trends for Optimizing Product Listings
As the number of sellers on the marketplace grows, so does the competition. In the coming year, brands will continue to do everything they can to make their product listings rank. In order to be successful in 2020, brands need to optimize listings to be easily discoverable and eye-catching.
6. Amazon Will Keep Up With the Latest SEO Strategies
The field of Amazon SEO is constantly changing, which means that Amazon has to continuously alter the strategies that they use for the modern era. Here are some ways that sellers can implement SEO strategies for their Amazon listings in 2020:
- Create effective product titles. The product titles that you choose will have a large impact on your Amazon search rankings, which means that you need to ensure that you choose a highly effective title.
- Put your product in the right category. Product category is key to effective optimizations on Amazon. If your product isn’t in the right category, your rankings may suffer.
- Use keywords that Amazon customers are likely to type or speak. This will prove essential since Amazon voice assistants are becoming increasingly popular among customers. Keyword research for your products will prove essential in both areas.
7. Amazon’s Use of Keywords Is Advancing
Artificial intelligence has enabled Amazon to choose even more effective keywords, which has significantly improved the search rankings of many of their listings. As time goes on, the technology used to choose the keywords is expected to advance.
The fact that Amazon’s use of keywords is as advanced as it is means that Amazon listings are more likely to appear when potential customers are researching products through Google or other search engines outside of Amazon. This increases the visibility of your product listings considerably, which can result in more sales!
8. Images Will Be More Important Than Ever
It’s often said that a picture speaks a thousand words, and this is definitely true in the world of online marketing. If you’re a seller on Amazon, it’s important to make use of images.In fact, product images are shown to increase trust, conversion rates, and customer trust in the brand or product. The more images you include, the better off you’ll be.
Customers appreciate visually appealing images that accurately depict the product from several different angles. Additionally, product listings should include images that highlight unique product features. Images with white backgrounds tend to be favored by Amazon, so keep this in mind as you start curating your images. The right image is not only necessary for increasing sales, but certain image specifications must be maintained in order to comply with Amazon image standards.
As competing sellers improve the quality of their images and descriptions, it will be increasingly necessary for you to do the same. Providing images for a product can have a much more powerful impact than any amount of written words. Make your images count in the coming year.
9. Varied Images Will Attract More Customers
Once you comply with Amazon specifications, include a variety of different image types. Popular image types for the coming year include:
- Infographics
- Competitor Comparisons
- Lifestyle Images
Of course, you will still want to include images that show off the product without any background distractions. However, these additional image types help to provide information in an eye-catching way. They can also work to encourage customers to imagine themselves using the product. Including varied images will help you establish a recognizable brand and achieve greater success online.
10. Amazon Product Videos Will Be a Must
Product videos play an exceptionally important role in marketing, and this is likely to continue in the coming year. As a seller on Amazon, it’s a good idea to create product videos.
If a picture speaks a thousand words, then videos can speak a million. Videos that Amazon features are not only designed to promote products, but they also provide customers with in-depth information about the item. This can lead to customers being significantly better informed than they would be otherwise.
11. Product Videos Will Need to Stand Out
Due to the fact that there are a lot of product videos on Amazon already, it’s important to make sure that yours stand out against the competition. If there are already product videos for products made by your competitors on Amazon, it’s a good idea to watch these before making your own video. This will give you an idea of how to best outshine your competition in the promotional videos that you feature.
2020 Trends for Marketing on Amazon
Amazon is making considerable strides toward improving the usability of their advertising features. Within the last year, Amazon has worked to improve navigation, reporting, and moderation for brands who want to take advantage of their sponsored display ads—also known as Pay-per-Click (PPC) advertisements. With these new features, display ads are expected to grow in prominence over the coming year.
12. Sponsored Ads Will Make It Easier to Promote Products
Companies have benefited greatly from the sponsored ads that Amazon offers. Amazon has a lot of clout online, so they are able to get a large amount of high-traffic ads featured online extremely quickly.
Business owners around the world use Amazon’s sponsored ads to promote themselves to a broader audience. These ads result in increased popularity of their products and a larger number of product reviews on Amazon. This strategy is especially effective due to the highly advanced artificial intelligence and big data programs that Amazon uses to create personalized ads.
13. Sponsored Ads Are Becoming Increasingly Personalized
The sponsored products that are advertised through Amazon are more likely to be appealing to customers, and that’s because big data technologies are able to successfully identify a customer’s product preferences. Not only that, but this is a process that happens automatically and doesn’t require human intervention. As a result of the improved advertisements, there are more positive reviews on Amazon from customers that are pleased with the products they got.
The personalized nature of Amazon’s ads helps to ensure that customers who are directed to your products are looking for something like what you offer. The personalized nature of Amazon ads increases the conversion rate that one can expect from them, which is likely to increase your sales.
14. Brands Are Using Small- and Large-Scale Influencers
Influencer marketing can have a powerful impact on potential customers, and Amazon retailers are certainly making use of this strategy. Influencer marketing is a valuable way to reach new audiences through social media.
While many people think of celebrities and high-profile figures when they think of influencer marketing, there’s a lot more to it than that. In some cases, it’s actually best to choose small-scale influencers that are likely to speak to people in a specific niche.
Regardless of the product category, brands are likely to find an influencer to promote their products—no matter how unique the product is. With social media use showing no signs of slowing down, these types of brand-influencer partnerships are expected to grow.
15. New And More Effective Automation Technologies Are Now Being Implemented
Automation has improved many areas of Amazon—including customer service and marketing. As an Amazon seller, there are ways that you can use automation technology to your advantage. Here are some tips that can help Amazon sellers integrate automation into their marketing strategy:
- Automation for your Amazon advertisement strategy. Amazon offers a program that allows you to create your own ads that will be shown to potential customers on the website using sophisticated AI to improve your conversion rate.
- Third-party programs can automate changes to your ad spending. These base recommendations on when customers are most likely to buy, and they can greatly simplify tasks that would ordinarily require complex spreadsheets.
- Have your products shipped from Amazon fulfillment centers. Fulfillment times can be an issue for many businesses. But as an Amazon retailer, you can take advantage of Amazon’s sophisticated automation tools provided through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA).
2020 Trends for Improving the Customer Experience
Amazon takes customer service to the next level, and this is a trend that we’re certainly likely to see continuing into 2020 and far beyond. Here’s what you need to know about it:
16. Product Suggestions Are Becoming More Personalized
A customer’s purchase history allows Amazon to give product suggestions, which have become increasingly personalized due to improvements in technology. Artificial intelligence is likely to continue to make these suggestions increasingly accurate in the future, which will continue to make it easier for Amazon customers to find exactly what they’re looking for.
17. Customer Service Will Take Many New Forms
As a result of improvements in technology, Amazon offers many new forms of customer support that were never possible before. As a result of these advancements, there are likely to be many new forms of customer support in the future that are not yet possible. Here are a few examples of Amazon’s new forms of customer service and how you can benefit from them as a seller:
- Fast fulfillment. If your products are being stored at Amazon’s fulfillment centers, your items are likely to be shipped much more quickly due to Amazon’s use of Kiva robots, which is likely to result in more satisfied customers.
- Reduced wait times. Amazon has begun to use robotics for some of the interactions between customers and Amazon customer support, which makes it possible for the company to handle a much larger volume of calls. As a result, waiting times are reduced for people who call customer support, which is likely to improve customer satisfaction. This will make it easier for sellers to promote brand loyalty on Amazon.
- Added Support for Kindle users. Amazon makes it possible to reach customer support through Kindle with the touch of a button, which is likely to lead to more satisfied customers if you sell digital goods through Amazon Kindle.
18. Artificial Intelligence Is Key to Customer Support
Artificial intelligence has made it easier for customer service representatives to help customers and provide key information. AI has greatly improved the collection of data, which allows customer support representatives to more thoroughly understand product availability for different types of items.
Amazon’s voice assistants have also greatly improved the level of customer support that the company is able to offer. In fact, voice search allows customers to ask many types of questions to a voice assistant rather than having to speak with a customer service representative over the phone.
19. There Are Now More Product Reviews to Track
Customers depend on product reviews when making online purchases. Amazon works to encourage customers to leave product reviews and ratings, which means that there are plenty of reviews to look at to determine if something on Amazon is worth buying. Furthermore, they have made it very easy for reviews to be posted by customers.
Reviews play an integral role in determining whether or not an Amazon customer will buy your products. However, the increased number of reviews means that it’s more important than ever to ensure that your customers are satisfied. Having low reviews not only discourages customers from purchasing your product, but also lowers your search rankings on Amazon. Pay attention to constructive feedback and do what you can to improve the customer experience—that way your product ratings won’t take a hit.
20. Amazon Is Continuing to Improve Delivery
Amazon fulfillment times have quickly become the new standard for online retailers to remain competitive within the ever-shifting e-commerce landscape. Currently, Amazon offers a special delivery program for Amazon Prime customers, which includes running their own fleet of delivery vehicles. These items are shipped to people’s homes exceptionally quickly compared to other delivery services, and Amazon is continuing to take steps to improve and speed up product delivery for their customers.
Summary
Overall, Amazon is a growing marketplace, and it’s a great place for business owners to sell their products. It’s important to design your product descriptions with Amazon’s changing and improving marketing strategies in mind. It’s also extremely important to be familiar with what products tend to sell well through the e-commerce giant. By minding these trends in the coming year, you will be well on your way to gaining more customers and increasing your sales.
Whether you are an established brand or launching a new product, Evolved Commerce makes it easy to sell on Amazon. Contact us today to learn how we can optimize product listings, boost your brand, and evolve your Amazon business.
References:
The Health & Wellness Industry Is Now Worth $4.2 trillion
32 Mind-Blowing Amazon Statistics for 2019
The Biggest Trends In The Beauty Industry
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) Services
Advertise Your Product and Brand on Amazon