Optimize your strategies for reaching parents and students during the school shopping season with these expert tips.By Matt JuulJuly 26, 2022
BTS items were in high demand on Prime Day, as shoppers purchased more than 1 million laptops and 600,000 backpacks
Prime Day 2022 kicked off the back-to-school (BTS) season earlier than ever this year, with many of Amazon’s Prime members using the July event as a way to stock up on important items for the coming school year.
According to Amazon, BTS items were in high demand on Prime Day, as shoppers around the world purchased more than 1 million laptops, 600,000 backpacks, 240,000 notebooks, and 220,000 Crayola products. Now that Prime Day is over, brands and retailers should capitalize on this momentum during the crucial lead-out period, maximizing their BTS strategies to continue driving sales throughout the summer.
As shoppers prepare for the return of in-person classes this fall, make sure you are creating winning BTS strategies that resonate with parents and students by using these expert tips for optimizing advertising, pricing, inventory, and more.
Stay on top of the latest e-commerce and marketplace trends.
1. Stock Up on Popular BTS Items and Top-Selling ASINs
Getting ready for in-person learning is top of mind for shoppers, as 71% of parents are using this BTS season to prepare their kids’ return to the classroom full time this fall. Brands and retailers need to stock up on the right items to meet this shift in priorities, analyzing industry trends as well as their top-selling ASINs to determine which products to prioritize when optimizing BTS strategies.
According to Retail Me Not, parents are planning to spend a lot more on pricey technology products this year, with shoppers anticipated to spend an average of $1,333 — more than double last year’s numbers. Additionally, 43% said they were most likely to use their BTS budget on clothes, while 34% were planning to spend the most on school supplies.
Considering these statistics and Amazon’s insights from Prime Day 2022, businesses may want to increase their focus on selling BTS items needed for the transition back to in-person learning.
2. Optimize Keywords and Product Listings
Once you have identified your top-selling and most popular products for the 2022 BTS season, it is time to maximize their visibility on Amazon by optimizing keywords and product listings.
Keywords play a critical role in improving conversions through paid advertising efforts, so make sure you are doing the research to find the most impactful and relevant keywords for your BTS items. Utilizing a sophisticated, machine-learning platform like Feedvisor can help you pinpoint exactly which keywords are worth investing your ad spend on, using real-time data to make the most precise bids at exactly the right moments for driving conversions and sales.
Additionally, taking an SEO approach to optimizing titles and other aspects of your product listings according to Amazon best practices are key to maintaining high rankings through organic search. Do not forget to update your BTS items’ listings to include accurate and optimized titles and descriptions, high-quality images of the product, as well as engaging copy that highlights key features and competitive differentiators. Try A/B testing keywords, images, titles, and other aspects of your product listings to find new ways to improve your ranking and visibility.
3. Increase Your BTS Advertising on Amazon
Across the Amazon landscape, businesses are becoming more strategic with how they advertise around marquee events like BTS season, often choosing to increase their investment in advertising during these key times.
According to Feedvisor data, 29% of brands increase their advertising during periods like Prime Day, Q4, and other major holidays or events, while 16% of brands solely advertise during these times. Looking back at this year’s Prime Day, those trends appeared to continue with ad spend up 31% in 2022 compared to 2021, according to Feedvisor customer data.
This increased investment in Prime Day 2022 advertising also led to a 1073% increase in ad sales, with impressions up 246%. Since the need for advertising on Amazon around major events is clear, businesses should consider investing more in these efforts throughout BTS season in order to maximize sales.
Spending more alone is not enough, however, as brands and retailers must be strategic with how they deploy their advertising budgets. From PPC ad campaigns to BTS-specific landing pages, all of these efforts should be personalized and targeted towards capturing the attention of students and parents, with messaging crafted to resonate with their evolving school shopping needs. Additionally, 95% of shoppers are looking for deals as they shop this BTS season, so consider creating targeted promotions and offers to further entice customers.
4. Provide Proper Support for Textbook Sales
As students prepare to hit the books again this fall, make sure you have the right systems in place to support textbook sales if those products are a part of your BTS inventory and strategy.
While the usual best practices for selling products on Amazon still apply, textbook sellers must also be careful to ensure that the items are listed under the correct ISBNs and have their condition accurately described. Textbook shoppers frequently opt for expedited shipping as well, so make sure your business can honor any of these requests if offered, and have the right resources in place to handle any issues or delays in a timely fashion to ensure a positive customer experience.
5. Leverage AI-Driven Technology and Amazon Expertise
While scaling your business and BTS offerings on Amazon, brands and retailers should be leveraging the best tools available for optimizing across all their operational efforts.
For example, Feedvisor’s AI-driven platform and team of Amazon experts help businesses hone their BTS strategies in a variety of ways, such as using our machine-learning technology to create the most accurate demand predictions and forecasting that utilizes historical and competitor data to assess inventory needs.
Platforms like Feedvisor can play a huge role in maximizing results through your advertising and pricing strategies. Above all, using an advertising optimization platform in tandem with a dynamic repricing technology that adjusts prices in real time based on market conditions is the best way to create holistic BTS plans that takes into account every important factor for selling and advertising on Amazon.
About the Author
Matt Juul is a content writer at Feedvisor, where he contributes to the company's content marketing initiatives. Prior to joining Feedvisor, he was a content marketing writer and podcast host for a business aviation brokerage.
Final Thoughts
This school shopping season is shaping up to be quite different from last year, as businesses and consumers are reprioritizing their needs based on the anticipated return of in-person classes across the country this fall.
As brands and retailers continue to hone their BTS strategies, make sure your business is in the best position to grow and maximize sales. Focus on creating advertising campaigns and optimizing listings for top-selling items that resonate with the needs of today’s students and parents.
Learn what Feedvisor can do for your business.
When you partner with Feedvisor, you automatically receive access to our true, AI-driven technology and hands-on team of e-commerce experts. Contact one of our team members today to learn more about our end-to-end solution for brands and large sellers on Amazon, Walmart, and e-marketplaces.
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