How to Sell More CPG Products on Amazon

Selling consumer packaged goods on Amazon is a smart path to grow your brand based on the state of retail today.

But are you doing it effectively? This guide shares useful tips and tricks to ensure you’re set up for success to sell more of your CPG brand products on Amazon and get the most out of your investment!

The ABCs of Selling on Amazon

Before we get into the specifics of selling CPG products on Amazon, let’s cover the basics. Like any other brick and mortar store, you need to have your products, distribution and competition strategies in place. We call them the ABCs of selling on Amazon:

A. Always Check Your Stock

When you sell products on Amazon, you must have enough products in stock. Depleted inventory happens more than you think, and if you’re FBA – Fulfilled by Amazon – shipments have to be processed to the distribution warehouses promptly.

If your products are FBM – Fulfilled by Merchant – your distribution teams should be aware of any additional selling efforts so that they can adjust as needed.

B. Build Your Distribution Method

Speaking of distribution methods – FBA or FBM – do you have the infrastructure to get your product from point A to point B?

If you choose to have your product fulfilled by Amazon, it is much easier because they handle the shipping. Some sellers prefer this because it opens them up to subscriptions, but it can sometimes be a hassle as well.

If your product is fulfilled by Merchant, on the other hand, you’ll pay less in Amazon fees and have more control over the product, but you can expect a bit more work on your end.

C. Check Your Competition

As with any business endeavor, it’s important to know the competition.

Are you the only one who sells this product or are you competing against other vendors to move products on Amazon? Competition can be between other sellers or other brands in your category.

When you produce the product, you should always be the one controlling the costs. You must carefully price your products to ensure you can’t be undersold – at the same time, selling at too high of a price won’t do you any favors in the long run!

It’s a bit trickier with other brands in the category as you’ll have to rely on your pricing smarts to run discounts, promotions and other strategies to attract customers and stay in front of the competition while keeping costs low.

Create Your CPG Listings on Amazon

When you create your listings, be sure to optimize them for SEO. This means using keywords that your customers use when searching Amazon for products like yours.

Here are 3 things to keep in mind when optimizing your listing:

Amazon has instituted a penalty for sellers that have over 200 characters in the product listing, so keep it concise with those descriptions.
Always include high-quality, realistic images on your product listings as well. Amazon (like most websites) has high image standards that must be met.
Consider listing all of your products on one page. A Store Page makes it easy for customers to find everything you’re selling and conveniently purchase on Amazon.

Boost Visibility with Amazon Advertising

Selling CPG products on Amazon involves advertising as well. You have a few ways to go about this: sponsored products, brands, displays and stores.

Sponsored Products – These ads are displayed on Amazon and serve up your product pages when users search for relevant products. When a customer clicks on this ad, it will direct them right to your page.

Sponsored Brands – These advertisements showcase multiple products and appear on Amazon with your brand logo and a custom headline. Potential consumers will see a selection of your products and be directed to your brand store.

Sponsored Displays – These ads target audiences who have shown a past interest in categories related to your promoted product or recently viewed your product page but didn’t purchase. In the same way, you can target similar products or categories to promote your own product.

Sponsored Stores – This is a free, self-service solution that can be customized with automatic widgets so you can promote your brand, best-selling products, seasonal collections and show videos that highlight your brand story and engage shoppers.

When creating a strategy for how to sell products on Amazon, incorporate these advertising options as much as possible.

Get the Buy Box on Amazon

One of the most important ways to boost your sales on Amazon is to get the Buy Box. This is the white box to the right of the Amazon product details where buyers can add it to their cart. Not all sellers get this box, yet over 80% of Amazon sales go through this button!

The 5 Ways Our Clients Win the Buy Box:

Offer competitive pricing. Shoppers love a deal so offer the lowest price for your products.
Become a Prime seller. Amazon gives these brands priority. If your products are fulfilled by Amazon, you qualify automatically, but if you’re fulfilled by Merchant, you can still qualify.
Maintain positive seller feedback. These are Amazon’s shoppers, not yours. If you can’t keep your ratings high and customer service on point, Amazon will stop sending them your way.
Track your Account Health. Are you getting your shipments out on time? Answering custom questions quickly? Keeping your pricing competitive? These matter big time.
Collect positive reviews. While we can’t know Amazon’s algorithm for certain, it’s assumed sellers with positive reviews have a better chance at the Buy Box.

As you grow your business and work to sell more products on Amazon, remember to always keep these guidelines in mind and do your best to serve Amazon’s customers well.