The automotive aftermarket is growing with the increasing average vehicle age. The online sale of automotive parts is on a all time high and has exceeded $15 billion in 2019, registering a 18.3% increase over 2018. Amazon happens to be the latest entrant in this segment and seems like it has already created a disruption in this space. It has partnered with Sears and has so far added more than 70 auto centers to it’s store’s list to provide installation and balancing for the car owners who purchase car tires on Amazon.com.
Amazon has also partnered with General Motors and Volvo for the in-vehicle package delivery. In addition to this,Amazon is also developing Alexa-Echo speakers for cars. and has expanded the same-day delivery services for the commercial as well as do-it-yourself customers.
Amazon Marketing Services(AMS)
AMS offers effective tools to allow the vendors to stay ahead of their competition and drive maximum traffic to their brand or product pages. Thus, it is important for the vendors to leverage AMS to its maximum potential.
AMS offers a direct opportunity to the advertisers and sellers to push their products and services upfront. They get the ability to target the individual product detail pages where they can introduce their products directly during the last stage of conversion.
AMS has evolved into three main advertising formats:
- Amazon Sponsored Products Ads
- Amazon Headline Search Ads
- Amazon Product Display Ads
AMS is currently available in US, UK, and Canada. However, Amazon Sponsored Products Ads are available in many other countries.
These ads are considered as the middle-of-the-funnel ads as it appears in a number of locations where a buyer can compare different purchase options. It is very easy to create these ads and they appear on Desktop, Mobile apps, and mobile browsers.
Amazon’s Impact On The Automotive Aftermarket
Amazon has an extremely large user base and it offers an extremely convenient and personalized way of shopping. Further, the number of drivers looking for the automotive parts online is increasing rapidly. Thus, it is becoming a major threat to traditional suppliers and retailers.
How To Leverage Amazon To Spike Your Sales?
AMS allows you to expand your network by letting you share the product content in the desired format. Suppliers can use the content in the marketplace and improve the customer experience digitally. It also allows the retailers to stay highly competitive and lets you devise a low-cost marketing strategy.
It’s extremely challenging for traditional retailers to maintain a strong customer base. However, e-retailers find it easier to reach their customers due to their online presence. Here is how AMS can really help you create an effective marketing strategy:
(a)Create Dynamic Content
Dynamic content can help the suppliers in delivering the pricing information and the product description to their customers efficiently. Interactive videos and product photos can significantly improve the shopping experience of the customer and help them make the right purchasing decision. AMS provides a streamlined way of delivering the content in a streamlined way.
(b)Speedy Marketing
The easily shareable content allows the suppliers to get the product content in front of a large number of customers fairly quickly. There is nothing better than your customers resharing the product content with their friends.
(c) Branding
A streamlined content management strategy allows the suppliers to gain control over their branding process. With AMS, suppliers need not rely on e-commerce players to take care of their branding.
(d)Streamlined Communication
Retailers also need to promote and sustain a streamlined communication. AMS allows them to maintain good relationships with the existing suppliers and attracting new suppliers to their network.
(e) Volume Of The Content
A vehicle contains thousands of different parts from different suppliers. Automotive retailers are often overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the product content. By streamlining and keeping the content organized, it becomes easy for the retailers to sell the products online. Retailers can keep fairly good control over the content type for different products.
Amazon SEO
SEO(Search Engine Optimization) is not limited to Google. Amazon customers use Amazon’s search engine to find the most relevant product. If you are using marketing services offered by Amazon, you must have an Amazon product page. This would help you to rank high on the Amazon SERP(Search Engine Results Page).
Without Amazon SEO, your traffic will plummet and you will get fewer sales. Amazon’s search algorithm does not work like Bing or Google as it involves far fewer ranking factors. However, it does not make your job any easier.
Important ranking factors for Amazon SEO:
(a)Product Title
The product title is probably the most important SEO element. It’s a good practice to include the most relevant keywords in the product title.
(b)Backend Keywords
Backend keywords are used only in the backend section of the Amazon Seller Account. Sellers can fill up to five different fields for the backend keywords.
(c)Brand Field
The brand field appears on the product page and it links to different search results for various products. Amazon shoppers often search for the products through their brand names.
(d) Seller Name
The seller name is also an important ranking factor. They can also help you rank your products higher in the Amazon search results.
(e) Product Description
You must write the product description in a readable format. Use bullet points, short paragraphs, and titles. Unless the description is not well-organized, customers will bounce away from the page.
(f)Product Images
You must publish high-quality images of your products that describe them correctly. They must be 1,000 pixels large in width or height.
(g)Amazon Reviews
Most customers look at the product reviews before making a purchase decision. There is a correlation between the search results and the number of reviews.
E-commerce is outgrowing the traditional commerce and the sheer size of Amazon is allowing it to dominate the space. As a retailer or supplier, you need to showcase your products online in an effective manner. Amazon’s Automotive sales are rising every year.
Car owners have started turning towards Amazon for the replacement parts. Retailers and suppliers cannot afford to ignore what Amazon is doing. Instead of looking at it as a threat, you can leverage this trend and enjoy the early mover advantage in the market.