It can be worrisome to see any sort of dip in your Amazon sales. There are some times when that downturn is natural, but when it starts to become a pattern, read our tips on how to turn that frown upside down. Here are nine reasons why you may be experiencing a decline in your Amazon sales.
1. You’re Just Not That Visible on Amazon
When buyers first go on Amazon, that search bar at the top is one of the first places they’ll click. And if your store isn’t on the first page — even the first half of the first page — that pops up, then you can probably kiss a sale goodbye. Amazon ranks sellers’ products based on keywords from product titles and search terms.
How to fix: Use as many as your allotted 250 characters to craft an excellent product title, using specific words and phrases.
2. Your Product Descriptions Are Too Vague or Inaccurate
Let’s say you’ve rocked the product title enough to rank high on the initial search. If your Amazon sales are still declining, it could be because your Amazon product descriptions aren’t enough to pique people’s interest strongly.
How to fix: Go over your descriptions and make sure they’re honest, clearly written, fully descriptive and relevant to the product.
3. You’re Not Very On Top of Product Fulfilment
It’s one thing to make a sale and send out the item. It’s quite another to keep your buyer looped in at every step along the way.
Not only should you have a little time cushion in case anything goes wrong (i.e. bad weather, shipping interruption, customs problems, etc.), but you should be keeping in touch with both customers and Amazon.
How to fix: Once someone buys an item, let Amazon know so they can send buyers an email letting them know their purchase is on their way.
4. You’re Not Using Fulfilment by Amazon
Unless you’re a small-time seller (i.e. not moving many goods each day or month), it doesn’t make much sense not to use FBA. It just takes care of so much work for you, from picking and fulfilling orders to handling customer support.
How to fix: Just…sign up for FBA.
4. Your International Buyers Can’t Access Your Product
If you’re only to one market, you’re potentially missing out on a ton of sales, and in a couple of ways. The first is that you’re just not getting the exposure you could be getting. The second is that if buyers are torn between your product and another, they’ll tend to go with the one that’s closer to home.
How to fix: Get started right away on branching out into different global markets. You’ve got 10 in the Amazon marketplace to choose from.
5. You Handle Bad Sales Poorly
Not every single sale is going to go right, and you have to have an excellent backup plan ready for when things do go south. Email them to find out what was wrong, try to fix any mistakes, get into contact with Amazon if you feel like something went seriously wrong — just because you’ve had a bad sale doesn’t mean it has to stay that way.
How to fix: Stop viewing poor sales as permanent, and work on changing the situation, even after its happened.
6. Your Feedback is on the Scarce Side
When consumers are stuck on which seller to go with, especially when the product and its price are pretty much the same, they’re going to look at reviews and ratings as the next tool to help them choose. This shows you’ve got a solid background in selling merchandise, which, in turns, builds credibility.
How to fix: Use FeedbackExpress to manage your Amazon feedback and product review requests.
7. Your Profile Metrics May Not Be Where They Should Be
Hey, you know what? Sometimes declining Amazon sales can simply be chalked up to not paying enough attention to your sale metrics. There are a bunch of criteria on there that show where you score and lose points, so logging in there regularly can show you where you have to improve on.
How to fix: Bookmark your sales metrics page, check in on it regularly, and alter your performance to achieve higher makes in all areas.
8. You’re Not Fixing Listing Errors Quickly Enough
There are so many ways in which you can be making mistakes with your listings, but here are some of the most common areas:
- Photos that are either not very good/professional, or downright inaccurate.
- Spelling and/or grammar errors
- Mistaking the size or colour of the item
- Items not in their right categories
How to fix: Take those extra few seconds with each item and make sure the details are absolutely correct. And if you stumble upon an error, fix it as soon as possible.
9. Your Pricing Isn’t Competitive Enough
Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how stellar of a seller you are, or how well you’ve written your product descriptions. Sometimes, the only factor a buyer looks at is the price. This is especially the case when your up against a number of sellers who all have similar products and descriptions.
How to fix: By using RepricerExpress, of course! It takes care of all the dirty work for you so you can focus on the above eight tips.
