That being said, with 45% of retailers starting their online customer journey on Amazon, the online giant had nothing to worry about as millions of festive shoppers flocked to their site, snapping up bargains left, right and centre – throughout the weekend. The question that bodes asking, is how did the market shift throughout Black Friday, Sofa Sunday and Cyber Monday to support the influx of bargain hunters – in short, how did advertisers change their pricing strategy throughout the four day event to maximise exposure and ROI?

Amazon Market Analysis

Over the past year, Incubeta has developed a Market Monitor Tool which allows us to analyse the Amazon marketplace providing valuable performance insights across the platform. Similar to the analysis we did for Prime Day, we used our tool to analyse the subsequent impact that Black Friday, Sofa Sunday and Cyber Monday had in comparison to one another. Based on our Black Friday Weekend Report, we were able to gain the following insights on Product Price, Share of Voice and Advertising .

Product Price:

Product price tells you the individual cost of each product, which over 96% of Amazon consumers say is the most important factor in their purchasing decisions. Product price allows advertisers to directly compare themselves to competitors, tailoring their strategy accordingly. 

Using the Market Monitor tool, Incubeta was able to determine that on average product price was higher on Sofa Sunday in comparison to both Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Prices increased on average by 8% from Black Friday to Sofa Sunday, with prices dropping by 8% on Cyber Monday, displaying a similar price to that offered on Black Friday. This trend suggests that Cyber Monday is the day where consumers will get the best deals.

1. The average product price on Black Friday was 8% lower than Sofa Sunday (£56.62 on Black Friday compared to £61.32 on Sofa Sunday)
2. The average product price on Black Friday was 0.4% higher than Cyber Monday (£56.62 on Black Friday compared to £56.38 on Cyber Monday)

The exception to this trend is with Fitness Equipment, which saw a 13% decrease in price on Cyber Monday compared to Black Friday. Overall price was highest on Sofa Sunday (£78.14) compared to £65.32 on Black Friday and £67.08 on Cyber Monday .

Share of Voice:

When looking at Share of Voice, we are determining the amount of space within the Amazon search results your brand owns compared to your competitors.

Looking at brand Share of Voice (SOV), the Market Monitor established that overall SOV was higher on Sofa Sunday than either Black Friday or Cyber Monday. The category which showed the greatest competition on Black Friday (in terms of brand SOV and number of products ranking) was Kitchen – where the overall SOV was 24.64%. Fitness Clothing displayed the lowest share of voice of only 20.67% on Cyber Monday – down 8% from Sofa Sunday

1. Overall the average SOV on Black Friday was 2% lower than Sofa Sunday (23.88% on Black Friday compared to 24.36% on Sofa Sunday)
2. Overall the average SOV on Black Friday was 0.4% lower than Cyber Monday (23.88% on Black Friday compared to 23.98% on Cyber Monday

This trend in SOV indicates that it’s more competitive on Sofa Sunday than either Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

Advertising:

Incubeta was also able to determine which sellers were optimising paid advertising, finding that, on average, the use of paid ads was highest on Cyber Monday – being 8% higher than on Black Friday – suggesting an increase in sellers relying on paid advertising later on in the weekend.

1. Overall the number of sellers using Paid Advertising on Black Friday was 5% lower than Sofa Sunday
2. Overall the number of sellers using Paid Advertising on Black Friday was 11% lower/higher than Cyber Monday

Amazon Sold Products:

Amazon Sold Products (ASP) are products sold specifically on Amazon, by Amazon – not by third party sellers. They are products within Amazon’s private label brands, and are a benchmark for alternate sellers to compare themselves too. 

Looking specifically at ASP, we saw an increase in price on Sofa Sunday and Cyber Monday compared to Black Friday. This suggests that Amazon raises their prices after Black Friday, whereas third party sellers continue their discounts.

1. Overall the average ASP price on Black Friday was 18% lower than Sofa Sunday (£61.55 on Black Friday compared to £72.67 on Sofa Sunday)
2. Overall the average ASP price on Black Friday was 41% lower than on Cyber Monday (£61.55 on Black Friday compared to £86.77 on Cyber Monday)

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With 75% of users starting their shopping journey on Amazon, having an optimised Amazon campaign is the key to success going into 2021 – and now is the perfect time to refine your strategy.

Incubeta’s Market Monitor tool can help you achieve full visibility on your product performance, gaining insights into direct competitors, SOV, keyword gaps and position, and for the rest of the holiday season we are offering free personalised audits of your Amazon Activity. 

If you’re interested in directly comparing your performance with competitors and identifying your true Amazon potential, fill in the form today and request your free audit.