Change happens quickly and constantly in the world of ecommerce – especially on Amazon. That platform is much different today than just a few years ago. As a proven marketplace agency that has helped generate over $750M in Amazon sales for brands worldwide, we understand the importance of not only keeping up with Amazon’s latest changes, but anticipating the ones to come. To help your brand prepare for a prosperous new year, we’ve compiled the most exciting Amazon marketing trends to watch in 2023.
Amazon DSP
Amazon DSP is a demand-side advertising platform that enables brands to reach audiences at scale on and off Amazon. One of the most exciting things about Amazon DSP is that brands don’t need to sell physical products to take advantage of it. In fact, you don’t even need to be in retail. Amazon DSP can help brands in virtually every industry, including education, restaurants, construction, grocery, insurance, and healthcare. Channel Key predicts that Amazon DSP will become increasingly important in 2023 as more brands understand how they can leverage Amazon’s massive customer data to grow and scale their business.
Streaming Ads
If you’ve ever binge-watched a show on Freevee, streamed a live event on Twitch, or enjoyed your favorite network broadcast app on Fire TV, you’ve experienced over-the-top (OTT) video content. OTT is any content delivered to viewers via a streaming video service over the Internet. Viewers are consuming this type of content in record numbers, providing a golden opportunity for brands. Advertising with Streaming TV ads allows you to reach audiences streaming content on connected TVs, publisher channels and networks, and Amazon owned and operated (O&O) entities. According to Amazon, purchase rate increases by 90% when brands integrate Streaming Ads into their marketing strategy.
Social Commerce
Social commerce is here to stay. A report from Accenture predicts social commerce will grow three times as fast as traditional ecommerce, and will reach $1.2 trillion in 2025. Amazon has embraced this shift in customer behavior with features like Posts and Amazon Live. In December 2022, Amazon introduced its latest social commerce feature: Amazon Inspire. This in-app feed displays shoppable photos and videos in a way that resembles the popular platform TikTok. Shoppers can personalize their feed by choosing from a list of available topics such as “Storage & Organization,” “Men’s Style,” and “Running.” Customers can tap the products featured in photos and videos to learn more about them, access reviews, and add them to their cart.
Augmented Reality
One of the challenges of ecommerce is that customers can’t physically inspect a product before purchasing it. Augmented Reality may be the solution to this problem. The Amazon View in Your Room feature lets customers view products in their homes before buying them. For example, you can see how a coffee table or rug would look in your living room with a few clicks on your mobile phone. Amazon’s Virtual Try on Shoes is another Augmented Reality tool that helps customers visualize how shoes look on their feet from every angle. Channel Key predicts Amazon will continue adding new Augmented Reality features that enhance how customers interact with products in 2023.
Voice Shopping
Amazon’s Alexa supports Voice Shopping in a variety of ways. You can build shopping lists, track orders, and confirm delivery dates with simple voice commands. Alexa can give you shopping recommendations based on customer ratings and available deals. It can also notify you when your package is delivered. Once you receive and use the product you ordered, you can rate it with Alexa and provide valuable feedback to help other customers. Most recently, Amazon has begun incorporating ads into Alexa’s answers with the new Customers Ask Alexa feature. When shoppers pose questions to Alexa, including queries related to a product’s features or compatibilities, Alexa will respond with helpful answers provided by brands from those product categories.
Channel Key Takeaway
Amazon likes to implement changes that help solve problems and improve the customer experience. This is the one constant that guides the future of the largest ecommerce marketplace in the West. Each of the trends outlined above makes it easier for shoppers to connect with the brands and products they like, and vice versa. Channel Key predicts that Amazon will explore these key areas by launching a wide range of beta tests in 2023. Staying up to date about these innovations will help keep your brand at the forefront of change and ahead of your competition.
