Any person working in fashion understands the importance of visibility. Clothing and accessories are visual items and displaying them in a controlled environment allows you to build brand awareness and shape the brand image. In high-end retail stores, it’s common for the store to rent out floor space to large, influential brands. This creates a store-in-store concept that both brands and customers appreciate and enjoy. Selling fashion online uses the same basic principles, while adding a number of unique opportunities.

Amazon Fashion allows you to nurture a brand image and control the narrative while presenting your collection to a large, worldwide audience. Let’s take a stroll through the shopping mall of the world and find out how to make your brand successful on Amazon Fashion.

We will guide you through the basics of Amazon Fashion in three steps: Setting up your brand, increasing sales, and building your brand online.

Why selling on Amazon is important

You have an established brand. Your clothing or accessories are sold in various retail stores. In addition, you also have a functional webshop. Your online store is not the same as a rack in a clothing store. It’s more that that; it’s probably more like this:

• A webshop is the online equivalent of a brand store.
• Amazon is the online equivalent of a shopping mall.
• A product listing is the online equivalent of an item on the rack.
• A subdomain on Amazon is the online equivalent of a store-in-store.

All strategies have merit, both offline and online. Although you have complete control over your own website and webshop, you are missing out on the huge customer base to whom Amazon caters. Building your own presence on Amazon Fashion allows you to increase exposure and sales by using various tools that fit within your business operations. That’s the theory, of course. Now we’re going to take a look at the practical side and workflow.

What about the competition?

The competition on Amazon can be overwhelming. Many sellers and resellers are offering the same products. Amazon is also a competitor with its own assortment of products. If you build a brand, this should not be a difficult problem to overcome. In fact, it offers a great opportunity to embrace. Here’s the good news—it presents a great opportunity that you should embrace. We’ll dive deeper into this subject in a moment.

1. Set up your brand

Are you a brand owner in the fashion industry? Congratulations, you are now eligible to register your trademark on Amazon. This provides you with an additional feature set that other sellers cannot access. 

Here are some options you have as a brand owner:

• You can flag sellers using copyrighted company assets, such as a logo, photos, and product descriptions.
• It’s possible to sell products without an EAN code.
• There’s more insight concerning your results and data.
• You can create your brand store on the Amazon platform.
• You have the option to advertise your store and products on Amazon.

If you have any questions about registering your brand on Amazon Fashion contact me. I’d love to help get you started.

Creating product pages

An empty shelf emblazoned with your brand name can’t magically increase sales; you will still need to present your products. That means creating product pages with all relevant information that your customers are looking for. On the one hand, you will have to conform to the standard requirements for Amazon listings; on the other, you will have to create attractive A+ content to entice visitors to purchase your products. Also, keep in mind that every product page represents another way to promote your brand. 

Here are five tips to get you started:

1. Create a descriptive title. Start with your brand, followed by the type of item; be sure to include additional details, such as style or size.
2. Upload images in a resolution of 1000×1000 pixels and make sure they are photographed against a plain, white background.
3. Publish at least 7 images, all of which feature different views and vantage points of your product, such as its top, side, front, back, bottom, and any special details, including lifestyle.
4. Add at least five bullet points that include product features.
5. List the available colors and sizes clearly on the description page.
6. Write additional descriptive copy that is sprinkled with a healthy dose of subjective information to promote your brand.
7. Be sure and include enhanced Brand Content (A+).

In a nutshell, you should strive for a great IDQ (Item Data Quality). Every aspect of the content is important. It is a great idea to evaluate concept listings with an objective focus group.

Fulfillment by Amazon

While it’s possible you already have the logistics of your order fulfillment set up, you may want to consider using FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). Besides its online platform, Amazon also offers a robust order fulfillment solution. This is an important part of their business model. Their warehouses and logistics acumen create revenue for Amazon. Also, they likely favor brands that use these facilities. 

This is also a good means of ensuring quality control. With stock stored in an Amazon  warehouse, they can guarantee reliable product management and prompt shipping. 

Here are some reasons your brand should consider using FBA:

• As a seller you don’t have to concern yourself with order fulfillment.
• Products are stored in Amazon warehouses the world over and under controlled conditions.
• Shipping costs are clear and reliable, although comparing rates is no longer an option.
• Your products will automatically be labeled as ‘Prime’ items.

What does ‘Prime’ mean for your business?

If you have spent any amount of time on Amazon, you’ll be aware of the ‘Prime’ logo. This is a subscription service for customers and allows them several benefits, such as free shipping, fast delivery, and access to Prime Video, to name but a few. These customers pay for the privilege of shopping on Amazon, which means they are more likely to order products on this particular platform. As a verified brand on Amazon Fashion and using FBA, you are automatically a Prime seller. The little icon invokes trust with customers; about 90 percent of sellers indicate increased sales as a Prime seller.

Selling in Europe

Europe is an interesting market with some specific challenges. Brand owners have access to the European marketplaces, which means more potential customers. However, that means some extra work. For instance, you need to translate and localize your listings and storefronts, check the tax laws for each individual territory, and manage shipping and returns. Keep in mind there are unified EU rules regarding products sold from EU countries to EU citizens.

So, we’re set up and ready to increase sales on Amazon Fashion. Are you still on board? If you have any questions, reach out to me for some tailor-made advice.

2. Increase sales

If you have some experience with internet marketing, you’re no doubt aware of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to increase visibility in search engines, such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo, to name a few. SEA (Search Engine Advertising) also plays an important part if you want to enhance your brand visibility. Platforms like Facebook and Amazon provide an ecosystem with large user bases and offer similar options to increase visibility. Simply put, you need to bring your product listings to the forefront. Like SEO and SEA, there are several options to increase visibility and sales on Amazon using both free and paid methods. Let’s take a look at three options:

a. Product listing optimization

Many customers use the search box on Amazon, but the search algorithms are not perfect. In fact, they make a lot of assumptions. So, you need to ensure your listing features all the keywords your target audience may include in a Google search. These are some common features:

• Brand name
• General category
• Specific item
• Color
• Size
• Material

Don’t go crazy in the product title, though, and never use ALL CAPS. This just serves to make your listing look manipulative (buyers don’t like that). Create listings that provide the customer with helpful information.

About the search algorithms (specifically Google’s): Google, of course, is the King of Search Engines; their algorithm is often better for finding products on Amazon compared to the proprietary search feature. Many customers know this and will search in Google (Shopping) and navigate from there. This means SEO is also of importance for Amazon listings.

b. Sponsored products

Organic search is fine, but it can be fickle; you can’t fully rely on optimized product listings. With sponsored products, you can reach the top spot above your competitors, even if customers search for other brands! Similar to the way it functions on other advertising networks, you can create campaigns, set a budget, and define search terms that fit with your line of products. There’s a bidding system in place, so the number one position is not guaranteed. But for increased visibility, sponsored products can be a smart strategy to use.

c. Special deals

The Lightning Deals and Deal of the Day promotions are offers for a limited timeframe. Your product will be prominently featured for a couple of hours. There are some requirements for a product to be featured on the Amazon Deals page, such as:

• A discount of at least 20 percent.
• The product must be sufficiently stocked.
• You are required to use FBA for handling and shipping.
• Amazon determines eligibility.

After the homepage, The Deals page is the most visited page. This means that you can reach an enormous audience if you offer solid deals.

d. Special events

Promoting Special events is another means of increasing visibility. They can be compared to Lightning Deals and Deal of the Day, but there is one distinct difference—the timing of the campaign. Special events are ones linked to seasonal celebrations, like Christmas, or universally recognized events, such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The requirements are also similar; they require a minimum discount of 20 percent, FBA shipping, and extra stock during the event.

e. Other promotions

There are other ways of offering discounts on Amazon that are certainly not unique to this platform. For instance, you could offer a 2 for1 sale, discounts based on total order amount, or a post-purchase benefit through external channels. For instance, you could offer a voucher  or free gift after ordering. Just make sure your promotions adhere to the Amazon seller rules; for instance, don’t redirect visitors to your own webshop for larger discounts.

Some brands believe discounts devalue their brand image. However, many customers respond very well to discounts and outlet offers. The largest fashion brands in the world also offer promotions, so you may acquire new customers who will become loyal to your brand. Speaking of which…

3. Build your brand

You’re not only selling products to consumers, you’re also building a brand image that will reach far beyond the confines of Amazon Fashion. There are several tools available to registered brands; let’s take a look at some exclusive features you can use in your marketing strategy.

Enhanced brand content (A+)

Regular product listings are used to showcase the merits of a product, not the brand as a whole. For instance, brand owners can add brand descriptions, branding images, video, and the brand’s history. This means every product page performs double duty, serving as a company’s Apage.

Store-in-store

Brand owners are allowed to use a subdomain in which the complete collection is showcased. Products from competitors are not listed on this page. You can compare this to the shop-in-shop or store-in-store concept that many high street department stores use. It may not be a complete replacement for your own webshop, but it does remove some of the clutter found within the regular Amazon interface.

Affiliate marketing with Amazon Associates

Extend the visibility of your products further by placing deep links to Amazon product pages on your social media channels. This way you can lead your followers to product pages from channels like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Not only can you increase visibility by doing so, you also receive the affiliate commission, which will reduce the cost of your advertising efforts.

Keep in mind that Amazon’s affiliate marketing benefits as much from your brand as you do. They’re not running a charity. Just remember to direct social media followers to the Amazon listings or your own webshop. There are no black and white answers here; just ensure you integrate the optimal approach within your overall marketing strategy.

Why use Amazon Fashion?

If you’ve reached this part of this blog, the answer should be pretty straightforward. But let’s recap the main points:

• You can enhance brand awareness by registering as a certified brand on Amazon Fashion.
• Good product listings can increase the sales of your products.
• FBA takes a lot of work from your plate and enhances your competitive position on the platform.
• By using SEO methods and sharing on social media, you can reach a wider audience beyond the confines of Amazon.
• There are still reasons to maintain your own corporate website and webshop. This, of course, will depend on your overall marketing strategy.

Are you ready to launch your products on Amazon? Reach out to me and we’ll examine all options that fit within your brand.