Coupons May Not Be as Effective as Other Amazon Promotional Offers

For Black Friday week, one of the accounts I manage faced a unique challenge: none of its ASINs were eligible for Lightning Deals or Best Deals. This was due to the Seller account’s recent transition from Vendor, leaving us with limited promotional options. To drive sales, I implemented two strategies—coupons and sale prices—to evaluate their effectiveness.

From my observations, the sale price had a more direct and noticeable impact on sales. The strikethrough pricing displayed prominently on the product page created instant visibility and signaled a clear discount to shoppers. On the other hand, while coupons featured a green banner to grab attention, we still saw sales where the coupon was not applied.

Why did this happen? It could be that the extra step required to activate a coupon—clicking to apply it—creates friction in the buying process. Unlike a sale price, which seamlessly reflects the discount in the product listing, a coupon isn’t as straightforward.

This experience underscores the importance of testing different promotional tools to understand what resonates most with your audience. While coupons might work well in specific cases, sale prices offer a simpler and more immediate way to communicate value.

When planning your next promotional campaign, experimenting with various options can provide valuable insights. These learnings will help you make more informed decisions, streamline your strategies, and ultimately, drive better results. Sometimes, the simplest solutions, like a well-placed sale price, can outperform more complex offerings.

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