Market Analysis for Amazon Sellers

Expert strategies for Amazon sellers to boost sales and stand out in a crowded marketplace. Read now.

Are you trying (perhaps with no luck) to boost your sales on Amazon? You’re not alone. More than 9.5 million sellers are competing on the platform from around the world, making it hard to stand out.

But here’s the good news – with the right market analysis, you can understand what your potential customers are looking for and create a winning strategy to increase your sales.

Get ready to take your Amazon business to the next level with these expert market analysis tools, techniques, and tips.

Understanding Market Analysis: A Basic Definition

If you want to make it big as an Amazon seller, you need to have a solid set of data to work with – and that all starts with a detailed market analysis. But what is market analysis, and why does it matter for Amazon sellers?

At its core, market analysis is the process of gathering and analyzing data on a particular market to understand everything about your sales, including consumer behavior, preferences, and trends. This analysis helps businesses like yours make informed decisions about the products they offer, pricing, and marketing strategy.

Market analysis can be as complex or as simplified as you’d like, but it essentially just involves studying both the target market and its competitors, with the ultimate goal of identifying gaps and opportunities. There are several different ways to go about a market analysis, but first, let’s talk about the basics.

Why Do Amazon Sellers Need Market Analysis?

Market analysis is a smart choice for any business, but for Amazon businesses, market analysis is absolutely critical when it comes to staying competitive in a crowded marketplace.

Once you have a better idea of your market, you can create products that appeal to your target audience – and then stand out from the competition. Market analysis can also help sellers identify untapped markets and opportunities for growth.

Furthermore, market analysis can help you differentiate yourself from competitors and create a loyal customer base – you’ll be able to find holes or gaps in the market that simply aren’t being addressed, also giving you some opportunity to grow your business.

It may even help you identify consumer behavior patterns and predict future demand for your products so you can plan production and inventory levels to meet consumer demand.

Differentiating Between Market Analysis and Market Research

While market analysis and market research are related concepts, there are some important differences – and the two should not be confused.

Market research is the process of gathering information about a market, including industry data, market size, and consumer behavior. Market analysis, on the other hand, involves interpreting this data to gain insights into the market and its opportunities.

The Importance of Continuous Market Analysis

While a one-time market analysis certainly has its benefits, continuous market analysis is absolutely critical for Amazon sellers to stay competitive in the ever-evolving e-commerce marketplace

As consumer behavior, preferences, and trends change, Amazon sellers must adapt to remain relevant – evolution is key here. Continuous market analysis allows sellers to monitor changes in the market and adjust their strategies to stay ahead of the competition in the future.

Evolving Trends in Market Analysis with AI and Big Data

Speaking of the future, the advent of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized the field of market analysis. Data analytics tools can now aggregate and analyze vast amounts of data, providing Amazon sellers with real-time insights into the market.

This has led to more sophisticated market analysis techniques and a greater ability to identify trends and opportunities. But there’s still no need to go overboard with tech! There are lots of ways you can go about a detailed market analysis even if you’d rather kick it old school. We’ll take a look at some of these market analysis techniques below.

Market Analysis Techniques

No matter where you are in your Amazon journey, taking the time to analyze the market can give you a competitive edge and help you make informed decisions regarding your products and overall strategy.

Here are some techniques you may wish to try.

SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats.)

One popular technique for market analysis is SWOT analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

As an Amazon seller, conducting a SWOT analysis can help you identify your strengths and weaknesses and address any issues before they become problematic. Spotting opportunities early on can also give you a competitive edge over other sellers, while assessing threats can help you prepare for potential challenges.

To conduct a SWOT analysis for a new product, start by identifying its unique selling proposition (USP) and potential target audience. Then, evaluate its strengths and weaknesses, such as its price, quality, or features. Next, analyze the opportunities and threats in the market surrounding your product, such as your competitors, consumer trends, or economic changes.

You can also use SWOT analysis to improve existing product listings. By identifying your product’s strengths and weaknesses, you can tweak its features or price point to better match your target audience’s needs and preferences. Similarly, analyzing opportunities and threats can help you refine your product’s marketing strategy and stay ahead of the competition.

Successful Amazon sellers have used SWOT analysis to their advantage to improve their businesses and drive sales. By analyzing their businesses’ internal and external factors, they were able to make strategic decisions that positively impacted their bottom line. If you’re curious about what this kind of analysis might look like, check out this example of a SWOT analysis for Amazon itself.

It’s important to note that, like any market analysis technique, SWOT analysis has its limitations. SWOT analysis can oversimplify complex problems and may not take into account some of the nuances inherent in niche markets. As such, it’s essential to adapt SWOT analysis only to micro-niche markets on Amazon and use it in conjunction with other market analysis techniques.

Competitor Analysis

Another market analysis technique for Amazon sellers is the competitor analysis – but contrary to popular belief, this involves so much more than just keeping an eye on the other sellers’ prices. You’ll need to dig deep into their business strategies and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it, because it can provide some valuable insight into the market.

Essentially, competitor analysis helps you identify what your competitors are doing right – and what they’re doing wrong. With this information, you can identify gaps in the market and build strategies that will set you apart from the crowd.

Competitor analysis can also help you identify whether you’re pricing your products too high or too low. Simply look for patterns in your competitors’ pricing strategies and see if you can identify their formula. The goal of this kind of market analysis isn’t necessarily to match or undercut – it’s to find a balance between profits and sales. You should do the same when it comes to product quality and reviews, along with your competitors’ marketing and advertising efforts.

Are they running Facebook ads? Appearing in Google search ads? What kind of messaging are they using?

There are all kinds of tools and techniques available to help you analyze your competitors. These include:

• Google Alerts: Set up alerts for your competitors’ brand names, products, and keywords related to your industry. This will keep you up to date with any changes or updates they make.
• SpyFu: Use SpyFu to find out which keywords your competitors are ranking for, and to get an idea of their ad spend.
• Social media monitoring: Use tools like Hootsuite, Mention, or SocialBee to monitor your competitors’ social media accounts. This will help you keep track of their engagement, customer interactions, and overall social media strategy.

Customer Analysis

This may seem like a no-brainer, but if you want to be successful on Amazon, you’ve got to understand who your customers are. What are their demographics, interests, and pain points?

Once you have this information, you can tailor your marketing messages to their needs and appeal to them more effectively.

A customer analysis can also help you segment your customer base. Not all customers are created equal – some are more valuable than others. When you segment, you can target your best customers more efficiently – for example, you can create a separate marketing plan for high-value repeated customers versus those who buy one-off items (more on this below).

One way to get started with your customer analysis is to collect and analyze reviews and feedback. The fully-compliant Amazon reviews tool HighFive by Lonesome Labs is a great way to get more customer reviews and seller feedback safely and for free. Take a look to find out what customers like and dislike about your products – which can help inform future product development – and use customer data to identify gaps in the market.

You don’t have to search too long to find this information. The good news is that Amazon provides a wealth of customer data, including metrics like conversion rates, click-through rates, and so much more. This will help you get an idea of your customer lifetime value (which refers to the amount of revenue a customer is likely to generate for your business).

Once you have this information, you can focus your marketing efforts accordingly, adapting to changing customer preferences and creating customer personas for more target strategies.

Don’t be afraid to integrate cross-platform data with these built-in Amazon analytics, either. Pulling in information from other platforms, like Google or social media, can give you a much deeper – and much better – understanding of your customers.

Trend Analysis

Knowing what products are in high demand and what customers are searching for can make a huge difference in the success of an Amazon seller. So how do you do this?

To start, there are all kinds of tools, such as Google Trends and Amazon’s own data, that can be used to identify emerging trends. By analyzing search trends, sellers can gain insights into what customers are looking for, allowing them to adjust their product offerings accordingly. Even something as simple as monitoring social media can help you spot emerging trends and anticipate consumer behavior.

One note here – it’s incredibly important to differentiate between short-term fads and long-term trends. Both can be useful, but have their limitations.

Short-term fads may present a great opportunity for sellers to make quick profits, but they generally don’t have long-term potential. Long-term trends, on the other hand, provide a sustainable business opportunity and should be pursued.

Product Demand Analysis

It’s also important to know which products are selling the most and which factors are driving demand. Amazon provides a variety of tools to measure product demand and analyze customer reviews to help you gain insight into customer preferences.

Analyzing seasonal fluctuations in product demand can help you to determine which products have year-round potential. Not only that, but pricing also  plays a key role in demand analysis, as customers are often sensitive to price changes.

It’s also important to evaluate demand for both new and existing products. New products may have potential for high demand, but established products may provide a more reliable source of income. Conducting a proper demand analysis on a regular basis can help sellers strike a balance between the two.

Market Segmentation

Market segmentation involves dividing the market into smaller groups to better target specific customer segments. Amazon provides built-in customer data that can be used to help you segment your market. Behavioral and demographic criteria can also be used to identify unique customer segments with specific needs.

Adapting product offerings to different market segments is important for maximizing sales potential, while later, evaluating the effectiveness of market segmentation can help sellers make informed decisions about how to better target specific customer segments.

AI has revolutionized the way we approach market segmentation. By leveraging powerful algorithms and machine learning, AI-based analytics can identify patterns and trends in customer data that might be otherwise difficult to detect. This allows you to create highly specific and customized marketing campaigns that speak directly to the needs and preferences of your target audience.

Some innovative segmentation techniques using AI-based analytics include clustering and predictive modeling. Clustering involves grouping similar customers together based on a set of shared characteristics (such as age, gender, or purchasing habits), while predictive modeling uses historical data to forecast future buying behavior.

Pricing Analysis

As you probably already realize, pricing is a critical variable in the success of any seller – but especially a seller in a competitive marketplace like Amazon. A pricing analysis can help you determine the most effective strategy, but you need to take into account all factors, including competition, customer demand, and profit margins.

When you implement a competitive pricing strategy, it can help you stay competitive while maintaining your profitability. Using psychological pricing techniques (like setting prices lower than a whole number – $9.99 vs $10, for instance) can help you influence customer behavior and drive sales.

Dynamic pricing strategies are becoming increasingly popular among Amazon sellers allowing prices to change in real time to adapt to market changes and customer behavior, as are implementing AI-driven dynamic pricing models. These models keep up with changes in real time and adapt accordingly.

Sales Channel Analysis

Sales channel analysis involves exploring different sales channels on Amazon and understanding their respective benefits and challenges. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) costs 70% less per unit on average than other premium options, helping you truly transform your experience for both buyers and sellers alike.

Amazon FBA versus FBM is a common comparison, but it’s also important to consider multi-channel selling. Integrating Amazon sales with other e-commerce platforms can lead to increased sales and customer reach.

Leveraging Amazon Prime for increased sales is another effective sales channel strategy, while exploring emerging sales channels such as Amazon Live can help you stay ahead of the curve and optimize your sales channels further.

Regulatory Environment Analysis

Finally, remember that it’s also important to have a good understanding of the regulatory environment for Amazon sellers. You need to make sure you’re in compliance with Amazon’s policies and guidelines, as well as any local and international regulations that may impact your selling.

This kind of analysis will involve reading and understanding the Amazon Seller Central policy page. Familiarize yourself with the prohibited items and activities, as well as guidelines around product detail pages, product images, and reviews – breaking any of these rules can result in account suspension or even permanent removal from the platform, so you’ll want to check in on this often.

You also need to make sure you are in tax compliance. In certain states, you’ll be required to collect and remit sales tax. Similarly, if you sell internationally, you’ll need to navigate import-export regulations, including customs duties, tariffs, and other fees associated with shipping products across borders.

And if you’re a private label seller, there are other legal considerations to consider, such as trademark and copyright protection, patents, and other intellectual property rights.

So how do you  manage all this? The key is to stay informed. Remember, e-commerce laws are constantly evolving, so you should do everything in your power to stay up to date with these changes. Consider joining industry groups or networking with other sellers. Better yet, consider partnering with experts on your selling journey, such as lawyers, tax professionals, and logistics providers.

AI monitoring is another tool that may be able to help. It can help you identify potential compliance issues, like prohibited products or listings, and help you stay up to date with changes in e-commerce.

Why a Thorough Market Analysis is So Important for Amazon Sellers

A thorough market analysis is an indispensable tool for Amazon sellers at all levels. Whether you’re a beginner looking to make your first sale, an advanced seller seeking to increase profits, or a highly successful seller aiming to stay on top, understanding the market is key to success.

By continually learning and adapting in your market analysis techniques, you can stay ahead of the competition, anticipate trends, and make informed decisions about pricing, inventory, and promotions.

And with the ever-changing landscape of Amazon, innovation is more important than ever. Creative approaches to data analysis and market research can help you identify new opportunities – and give you the edge you need over your competitors.

Remember –  leveraging market analysis isn’t just about short-term gains. By understanding the market, you can position yourself for long-term success on Amazon, by identifying emerging trends, building relationships with customers, and identifying untapped niches.

Make market analysis a core part of your Amazon strategy – and watch your sales soar.