Black Friday is the day after Thanksgiving which falls on the fourth Thursday of November. So, this 2023, the United States will celebrate Black Friday on November 24th. There is a long history behind the term but at present, it is most commonly observed as the start of the Christmas shopping season.
Since Thanksgiving falls on a Thursday, some states including California have made the day after as a holiday. This makes this weekend a four-day weekend. In turn, there are more shoppers around this time of the year.
Take note that promotions extend to Cyber Monday which is the Monday following Black Friday.
Retailers host a lot of sales around this time. It’s not a surprise that even on Amazon and other e-Commerce platforms, this day is also regarded as one of those that will attract traffic to the platform – much like Prime Day in July.
Because Amazon runs Deals of the Day and Lightning Deals around this time, you can expect that there will be increased traffic and sales.
On Black Friday 2022, consumers spent $9.2 billion, 2.3% more than the previous year.
If you wish to take advantage of this, plan out your strategies as early as July of every year. In this blog post, we’ll tackle how an Amazon prep center can drive your Black Friday success.
Challenges of Scaling during Holidays without using an Amazon Prep Center
During holidays, especially during the fourth quarter of the year, there are opportunities for better sales but the challenges are also there. And so, as early as now, you must prepare.
Maintaining a Healthy In-Stock Rate and Order Fulfillment
In-stock rate refers to how often your product is available for ordering. On Amazon, it is one of the metrics being monitored under the Inventory Performance Index or IPI. The higher the IPI score is, the more that Amazon will reward you with inventory capacity and such.
If your IPI score falls below the current standard of 400 (as of 2023), then, Amazon will limit your storage space and possibly impose fines as well.
Not to mention, the lead time becomes insanely long during these busy times of the year. Hence, as early as July, work on your Q4 strategies.
The surge in sales could throw your inventory management off. The more orders that you get, the more that you need in your inventory. Avoid stock-outs and delayed shipping or else, you may lose customers.
Maintaining Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty
With the influx of customers during holidays, it is also expected to have more customer complaints and returns. Here are some common challenges faced by businesses when it comes to customer service:
- Bad user experience: When you’re selling on various platforms aside from Amazon, keeping up with the customer demands, inquiries, and glitches can be exhausting. If the customers get frustrated, then, you may lose sales.
- Shipping issues: Keeping up with the inventory is one thing. Keeping the shipping times is another thing to take care of because any shipping delay, lost parcels, and damaged items can be frustrating.
- Lack of personalization: While there are many tools in the market available for personalization, improving brand awareness and the overall customer experience is key to keeping loyal customers.
Intense Price Competition
Price is one of the determining factors whether a customer will buy your product or not. With the rising costs of products and advertising, staying profitable can be challenging.
With the more intense advertising and rise in competition during the holidays, you need to be on top of how you can keep your cost of operations low.
Overwhelm
As a seller, it is also your responsibility to yourself and your family to enjoy the holidays while still being able to run a business. The tasks can be overwhelming. The schedule can be tight. Delivering stellar leadership to your team if you have one can be exhausting.
How Can an Amazon Prep Center Drive Your Efficiency During Black Friday
Knowing all these challenges, we, at Fast and Forward Prep Center can help you win Black Friday and the other holidays – or even on regular days! Here’s how:
Better Inventory Management
There are various ways to ensure that you have your best-sellers available for your customers despite having a limited storage capacity.
Extra Storage Space through an Amazon Prep Center
If your stock limit on Amazon is less than your projected demand, then, it is only necessary to look for more space. With a combined 20,000 square footage of area, you can store your products at our Florida and California warehouses.
Once stored at our warehouse, you can then send smaller batches to Amazon to replenish your stocks.
Optimized Logistics
Specifically, our California warehouse is near Amazon fulfillment centers. With this, you may get your stocks checked in at Amazon faster. The faster that Amazon receives your products, the faster you can get sales, too.
If you need to streamline your multi channel fulfillment in one facility, we can also help!
Efficient Order Processing at an Amazon Prep Center
Another way to scale your e-Commerce business is to sell on off-Amazon platforms. Fast and Forward Prep Center can help you with the fulfillment of your eBay, Shopify, Etsy, or Walmart stores.
If you have items stored at our warehouse, you may also opt to list some as Amazon Fulfilled by Merchant. When you get orders, we’ll process and ship the items on your behalf. We make sure that the orders will be shipped by ship-by date.
Time and Money Savings by Using an Amazon Prep Center
While it can sound counterintuitive to get help from third-party logistics, it is still the best use of your time to outsource the packing and shipping of your products.
You can use the time for other needle-moving tasks instead of receiving, inspecting, packing, labeling, and arranging the shipment of your products.
With all these, we commit to ship out your products within 24 or 48 hours upon receiving your products at our prep area. Especially during the holidays, you want to also enjoy the time with your loved ones.
So, it’s also advantageous for you and your team to work with a prep center that will do the leg work for you not just during the busy holidays but also throughout the year.
Competitive Pricing
Aside from time savings, you will also save on price. You no longer need to invest on packing supplies and equipment. You won’t need to hire assistants nor rent a warehouse. You don’t also have to use up space in your house as storage.
At Fast and Forward Prep Center, we pride ourselves on having one of the most competitive prices in the market.
We only charge a single set-up fee of $30. No minimum requirements, no monthly fees, no hidden fees. We only charge at the end of every month what you transacted for that given month.
Especially with the rising costs of everything, consider the pricing that we offer to see if it improves your bottom line.
Move Your Business Forward with an Amazon Prep Center, Fast and Forward Prep Center
Black Friday signals the joyous shopping holidays. If you are not yet preparing for it, you’re leaving money on the table if you don’t get to ride the Amazon wave in time.
Seize the opportunities that this holiday (and the rest of the Q4 months) brings in scaling your business.
So, if you ever asked yourself “Is there an Amazon prep center near me?” There might just be a Fast and Forward Prep Center! We have a warehouse in the West and another in the East. Whether you need an Amazon prep center in California or Florida, we are open for new customers.
Whether you’re a seasoned seller or somebody new in the business, you are welcome to get our services! Check out our list of services and pricing.
