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Today’s article conducted a consumer behavior survey on 2,000 American consumers and selected the four most valuable findings for Amazon sellers, hoping to provide inspiration to sellers . Main content: Generic name searches are 3 times more common than brand name searches Half of Amazon shoppers don’t understand where ads appear in search results Consumers are least willing to buy groceries on Amazon Amazon shoppers prefer informative product images
1. Generic name searches are 3 times more common than brand name searches
As shown in the survey results below, 74% of Amazon consumers use general product names or types (such as "running shoes") rather than specific brand names (such as "Nike sneakers") to search. After customers search for a product, the most important factor that makes them decide to buy the product is price . Besides price, other factors also influence consumers’ purchasing decisions. Predictably, reviews are the second most important factor. What does it mean for sellers? This is good news for private label sellers and Amazon sellers with low brand awareness. Even though you are a nobody, your sales trend may not be unfavorable.
This means that instead of focusing marketing efforts on building a brand, sellers should focus on other factors that influence consumers’ purchasing decisions . Search is the primary way to find products on Amazon, so sellers should strive to have their products appear in the search results page. - Research the most important keywords for the products you sell and consider the most obvious and common search terms;
- Make sure keywords are prominently displayed in titles, descriptions, Q&A, comments, and other areas;
- Optimize store performance and build brand reputation, as this may affect Amazon search result rankings and Buy Box rankings.
If you are not an exclusive distributor, you need to understand and optimize the Buy Box. Here are some strategies to optimize the Buy Box : - Regularly monitor competitor prices and adjust prices appropriately;
- Through pricing tools, you can set rules and refer to your competitors’ prices to automatically adjust prices with the help of algorithms.
But don’t generalize. In some categories, it’s more common for consumers to search by brand name than in other categories, and you can’t ignore the influence of established brands . Again, this doesn’t mean that brands aren’t important to consumers, they just don’t typically search by brand name to buy products. Learn from the brand values of other successful sellers in your niche and find ways to stand out. Show your specific brand values in your listings and product descriptions. 2. Half of Amazon shoppers don’t understand ad placement in search results There are "sponsored" products in Amazon search results, which are currently displayed at the top, middle, and bottom of the search results. After the seller places an Amazon sponsored product ad, these products will appear in the search results.
These products are displayed with a gray label above the title. Although it is not very conspicuous, it is not difficult for people who know it to find the advertised products. As shown in the survey results below, half of consumers do not know the difference between advertising and non-advertising placements in search results. What does this mean for sellers? Some sellers may worry that running product promotion ads may be detrimental to their business. Sellers believe that consumers do not trust ads and may turn to look for suitable products other than ads.
But in fact, running Amazon ads is not a big problem because: - Surveys show that many consumers do not know where paid ads are displayed. Of those who do know, most do not care whether it is an advertised product.
- Sponsored ads are pay-per-click ads. If consumers do not click to enter the product page, no fees will be incurred.
Many sellers claim that placing Amazon product promotion ads can effectively increase and maintain sales. Some sellers even believe that placing product promotion ads is essential for the categories they sell. In addition, Amazon also hopes to do a good job in advertising, hoping that consumers will click on ads more often, thereby bringing them revenue. However, if 50% of consumers do not know that there are ads in the search results and think that they are all natural search results, this may be a problem for Amazon. Amazon has been investigated for antitrust issues many times because the product advertising labels are not conspicuous enough and are considered to be deceiving consumers. 3. Consumers are least willing to buy groceries on Amazon The survey also included what categories consumers would not buy on Amazon. Nearly a quarter of consumers said they would not easily buy groceries on Amazon, while most would be willing to buy products in other categories. Attitudes toward online grocery shopping vary widely between countries. In the United States, online grocery shopping is not very popular, but it is common in countries such as South Korea, the United Kingdom, Japan, China and France. Although large retailers like Walmart now offer online ordering and home delivery, the online grocery shopping category in the United States is still in its early stages and most consumers are clearly not yet interested in buying groceries online. But for Amazon, the grocery category is a very promising area. In 2017, Amazon acquired Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion and has made other major moves with Amazon Pantry and Amazon Fresh. There are also many products eligible for Amazon Prime membership among the major grocery products. Although the grocery category has received less attention, it is clear that sellers can also use Amazon Prime to sell products such as food, beverages, and daily consumables. What does this mean for Amazon sellers? Just because consumers are reluctant to buy groceries on Amazon doesn’t mean there’s no future for selling groceries . Here’s why:
- Even without those 23% of consumers, the total size of the grocery category market is still huge;
- Consumers who are reluctant to buy groceries online today may change their mind in the future, further expanding sales opportunities for sellers;
- Grocery is a very diverse category. Whether online or offline, consumers’ purchasing behavior for laundry detergent or gourmet chocolate varies greatly.
Most importantly, sellers should not generalize when it comes to selling groceries. How to sell groceries on Amazon? We have written a similar article before, sellers can click here to check it out: " A Guide to Selling Grocery Products on Amazon " Online platforms are great for selling niche products or products with special needs. Amazon sellers who want to sell grocery products are best to choose the following products: - Meet niche dietary or nutritional needs, such as gluten-free and vegetarian products.
- Products that are scarce locally, such as products that are popular in other countries or regions but difficult to find in the United States, are valuable because of their scarcity. Popular products abroad may be in high demand.
- It can be used as a gift or as an item to entertain guests. The most important thing about a gift is that it is unique.
If 23% of consumers would not consider buying grocery products at all, then they must have some concerns about such products, and the rest of the consumers may have the same concerns. Then sellers need to study what concerns consumers have and find ways to eliminate these concerns . Let's say that the two biggest problems with the grocery products you sell are product freshness and damage caused by logistics. To solve this problem, you can use special processing and packaging, and explain the measures you take to overcome these problems in the product listing. 4. Amazon customers prefer more detailed product images
Consumers pay a lot of attention to product images when shopping online . They scan images in search results before reading the title, and then carefully examine the pictures on the product detail page to predict the quality of the product.
Consumers were asked to rate different images and media on a satisfaction scale of 1-7. The following figure shows the data chart for consumers with a satisfaction rating of 6-7: The results show that consumers prefer high-quality images regardless of the type of image, but informative product images that help explain the product's features are considered more important than lifestyle images or product introduction videos.
What does this mean for Amazon sellers? Most sellers believe that the more product photos, the better. High-quality product photos and videos are not only time-consuming but also expensive. Although some sellers can take high-definition product photos by themselves, most sellers need to hire professionals to help take product photos and videos.
Interestingly, the most important informational product images have a lower production cost because they rely mainly on post-editing. High-quality product images and videos usually require larger photography studios to produce, so they are usually expensive, but they are not very important to consumers. Therefore, when uploading product images, sellers should give priority to informational product images and do not use only exquisite product images or videos. But in fact, different products are suitable for different types of pictures or videos. The category you sell and consumer data are very important factors. For example, young consumers may think that beautiful and high-quality product pictures are more important. - Infographics are particularly important for products with multiple functions, such as power tools, etc. But they may not be so important for clothing products;
- Beautiful scene pictures are suitable for investing in fashion or other desirable products;
- Product introduction videos are very helpful for products with complex functions or where static images are difficult to express.
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