Welcome to The Ecommerce Braintrust podcast, brought to you by Julie Spear, Head of Retail Marketplace Services, and Jordan Ripley, Director of Retail Operations.

Today kicks off a special two-part series designed to get you fully prepared for Prime Day. In this first episode, we're diving deep into the operational, promotional, and organic strategies you should focus on as the big shopping days approach.

We're excited to be joined by Joanna Otto, an Account Manager on Acadia's Retail team. With more than a decade of experience spanning brand-side roles, agencies, and Amazon itself, Joanna brings a seasoned perspective on how Prime Day has evolved.

We're also welcoming Predrag Vetnic, one of our lead strategists for tentpole events. He'll be sharing key data insights and best practices for building an effective merchandising strategy, drawn from our work across a wide range of client partners.

Tune in to find out more!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

In this episode, Julie, Jordan, Joanna, and Predrag discuss:

• Start Preparing Early: Begin your preparations by April, as deadlines and operational tasks need to be handled well before Prime Day.

• Important Dates & Deadlines: AWD inventory by May 15, Deal scheduling closes May 23, FBA inventory deadlines: June 9 (minimal shipment splits), June 18 (Amazon-optimized splits).

• Sales Velocity & Reviews: Focus on increasing sales and reviews using programs like Vine and Product Win to boost organic ranking.

• Organic Prep: Invest in keyword optimization, competitive scraping, and high-quality content, including images and infographics.

• Prime Day Duration: The event has expanded to four days, so expect consistent sales throughout.

• Merchandise Fees: PED fees have doubled to $100; the new coupon fee structure starts June 2.

• AI Search: Amazon's AI assistant, Rufus, influences up to 35% of search traffic. Optimize your listings for this.

• Competitive Monitoring: Be ready to monitor competitors and pivot quickly if issues arise.

• Expect the Unexpected: Prepare for unexpected challenges, like account health flags and listing suspensions.

• Economic Pressure: Pricing strategies are more complex due to tariffs and market volatility, so be cautious with price hikes.

• Invest Strategically: Focus on targeted organic and paid efforts, including influencer and UGC campaigns, to drive relevance.