How Discounts Influence Amazon Customer Search Behavior

“If you don’t have a deals badge, then don’t even bother participating in events on Amazon!” It was a strong statement from an analyst on the team. Naturally, we dug into the data to validate her experience. Here’s what we found.. During Prime Day 2025, brands that ran just deals saw their revenue jump 132%. That's triple what we saw from those that just ran coupons, which only managed a 44% lift during the event. One week later… Those deal products were still outperforming (+23%), while coupon products actually dropped below their baseline (-14%). If you're still relying on coupons for major retail moments (or not participating in discounts at all), then it turns out the competition is probably eating your lunch. Still, brands are hesitating when approached about offering or increasing deal discounts. To be clear, coupons are useful tools. They boost CTR, and because they are often not redeemed, they can help preserve margins. But during major shopping moments (when consumers are deal hunting and Amazon's algorithm is pushing deals hard) coupons effectiveness is diminished. When we talk to brands about running deals, we hear the same concerns, including protecting brand equity, avoiding training consumers to look for discounts, channel conflicts. They are often willing to increase ad spend in these moments, but not willing to implement deals. These are real challenges that every brand leader has to wrestle with. However, while you wrestle with these strategic questions you should also make space to move forward with some testing. Importantly, our analysis of 40M products during Prime Day shows that sitting out deals means missing critical opportunities not just during big events, but in the crucial weeks before and after. What This Means for Your Q4 Strategy… You don't need to throw out your brand principles, but as we look ahead to Prime Big Deal Days, Back to School, and Holiday, it's clear that brands willing to test and make real-time adjustments in event (even if it means getting uncomfortable) will be set up to win.

Your discounts are killing full-price sales. Here's how to fix it. 👇 **After 12 years on Amazon, I’m sharing my insights to help brands improve profit margins. Join me here for 100 Days of Amazon Profit Hacks 💰 - Day 15/100** Ever wonder why some brands struggle to maintain rankings with full-price sales? They've learned which Amazon promotions are most effective for their brand... and in the process they've unknowingly trained their customers to expect discounts. You see, when promotions follow a predictable pattern: 🗓️ Every month 🗓️ Every quarter Customers catch on. They wait. They hold off buying at full price, knowing a discount is right around the corner. This is classic 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. If a customer sees a discount every 30 days, they quickly associate waiting with saving money. For products that are repurchased, this becomes very problematic. Your brand becomes a "wait-for-sale" brand. And your margins suffer BIG TIME! Example time: The screenshot below shows the pricing for a popular bedding product on Amazon. A few years back, the brand became addicted to the impact of frequent discounts on their ability to rank on top category terms. Not inherently a bad thing. Here's where they went wrong... They started scheduling discounts to begin the first Monday of each month and run for 7 days. They have rarely strayed from this schedule. Guess what, most of their monthly sales now happen on that discount week. They struggle to sell when at regular price. (And this is a $20M product...albeit now with thin margins) Don't make the same mistake HERE'S WHAT TO DO: 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. ✔️ Vary the timing ✔️ Extend the gaps ✔️ Shift the schedule A discount that happens randomly triggers a different response. ↳ It creates urgency. The customer doesn't know when the next deal will happen, so they act now instead of waiting. The best brands don't just run promotions. They control them. How have you harnessed promotions while preserving margins? Share below 👇 ==== See you back here tomorrow for another Amazon profit hack

AMAZON PRIME DAY FINAL NUMBERS ARE IN. And it's not a 4-day vs. 2-day story... Prime Day 2025 just wrapped up, and the numbers (from Triple Whale) tell a fascinating story about the evolving e-commerce space. First, The Numbers: - YOY comparison: Orders: +99% (2.83M → 5.63M) Revenue: +29% ($183.63M → $236.32M) AOV: ↓ 35% ($64.87 → $41.94) THIS IS THE STORY*** Total Discounts: ↓ 54% ($5.15M → $11.26M) Shipping Discounts: ↑ 176% ($546K → $1.51M) ROAS: Held (11.1x vs 11.7x) Pre-Prime Revenue: +14% YoY Daily Peak: Shifted earlier (5-8 PM vs 6-9 PM) My 2.5 Cents. Sprint vs. Marathon Effect: This was expected: 2024 was a sprint: Intense, urgent, all-or-nothing - Peak hours: 6-9 PM (concentrated buying) - Daily spend: $7.88M/day (high intensity) - Discounting: $11.26M total (aggressive pricing) 2025 was a marathon: Paced, strategic - Peak hours: 5-8 PM (earlier, more spread out) - Daily spend: $5.34M/day (sustained pace) - Discounting: $5.15M total (margin protection) Consumer psychology shifted. With more time to shop and economic uncertainty driving caution, consumers adopted "treasure hunting" behavior. They browsed more, added to cart, but waited to see if better deals appeared. This created TikTok-influenced shopping patterns (lower AOV, more frequent purchases) within Amazon's extended timeline. The TikTok-ification of Prime Day: The AOV is the biggest story to me. Yes, discounts were lower. But the bigger force at play is the combination of economic pressure and shifting consumer behavior. Amazon consumers mimicked TikTok-style shopping behavior as their shopping strategy: - Smaller, lower-risk purchases (TikTok Shop has a $43 AOV) - Treasure hunting for deals (waiting for better prices) - Essential-focused buying (Most Prime Day purchases were household essentials, apparel, or home goods) So, How Do Brands Win Moving Forward? 1. Warm up audiences earlier. The 14% pre-event revenue lift shows early engagement drives Prime Day success. 2. Optimize for economic anxiety: Create smaller bundle sizes and lower-priced entry points to reduce purchase risk in uncertain times. 3. Enable extended deal discovery: Use progressive discounts and flash deals to satisfy treasure-hunting behavior driven by economic pressure. 4. Test shifting product discounts to shipping incentives - Protect margins while still driving conversions (176% increase in shipping promos proves this works) 5. Track purchase frequency over AOV: Success means maintaining customer engagement through smaller, more frequent transactions. The Bottom Line: We're witnessing the TikTok-ification of traditional ecommerce. Prime Day 2025 shows how social commerce behavior (smaller, more frequent purchases) is reshaping even Amazon's biggest promotional events. The brands winning aren't those with the deepest discounts...they're the ones adapting to customers who shop like TikTok users. The question is, how will you adapt? #PRIMEDAY #amazon #ecommerce #marketing #CPG #DTC

Discounting on Amazon can still be effective — but only if done strategically. Amazon now shows: “Lowest price in last 30 days” “Was price” or “List price” This means artificial price hikes followed by fake discounts are easy to spot. Pros of Discounting (Even with Transparency): Improves search rank: Discounts often trigger higher conversion → better organic ranking. Triggers urgency: Limited-time deals still perform well with real value. Boosts visibility: Deal badges (e.g., Lightning Deals, Coupons) increase CTR. Cons (Post-Transparency Era): Kills trust if misused: Shoppers can now see if you're playing pricing games. Trains customers to wait for sales: Dangerous for long-term brand value. Reduces perceived quality: Constant discounts = low-value perception. So, what's the better approach now? - Use discounts to reward loyal customers or shift inventory. -Bundle deals, cross-promotions, or tiered offers. - Focus on value, not just price drops. -Run short, meaningful campaigns—not never-ending "sales". Question back to you: As Amazon makes pricing history public, how will your brand differentiate beyond price?