Tom:
Welcome to the Clear Ads Podcast: Highway to Sell. You’re listening to me, Tom Hor, and joining me this week — long time no see — is George Roberts. Great to have you back, George.
George:
Thanks, mate. Good to be back. How are you doing?
Tom:
Very well, thanks. It’s great to have one of our best speakers back with us today.
George:
You’re too kind!
Tom:
As always, everyone listening — don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode.
This week we’re doing some advance prep for Prime Day. The rumoured dates are July 11th and 12th, 2023. If you haven’t started preparing yet, now’s the time.
Even though it’s still two months away, Prime Day is one of the biggest e-commerce events of the year outside of the crazy Q4 rush. Even Amazon recommends getting your campaigns ready now, so you’ve got at least eight weeks of data to optimise from — and enough time to plan what deals or lightning offers you’ll run.
So, George, for our newer listeners, let’s start with the basics. What are the key features of Amazon Prime Day that advertisers should be aware of?
George:
Well, the obvious thing is that it’s a massive shopping holiday. They call it “Prime Day,” but realistically it lasts anywhere from three to five days now — since Amazon likes to roll out early deals and extend things after. Nothing really lasts just a day anymore!
It’s a huge event specifically for Amazon Prime members, and every year it just gets bigger and better.
Some sellers take a more conservative approach — especially category leaders who already dominate the space. They don’t always need to increase spend; they can just benefit from the sheer influx of traffic to the platform.
But overall, it’s one of the biggest shopping days of the year. And even as advertisers ourselves, we still get caught up in it!
I remember last year — I bought so many things on Prime Day even though I knew the prices might’ve been inflated beforehand. You just get swept up in the excitement.
Tom:
Exactly. I was going to call you a deal hunter, but “terrible shopper” works too!
You’re right though — a lot of people who aren’t even shopping for anything specific end up scrolling through the deals pages just to see what’s out there. And Amazon runs Prime Day ads everywhere — even on Instagram and other platforms.
Remember last year when we were in Puerto Rico for that event? We were scrolling through our feeds and getting hit with Prime Day ads non-stop.
George:
Yes! I also remember trying to deal with client emails while shopping at the same time. Probably not the best time to go away!
I’ve actually got some Amazon statistics here from their own advertising data. For example:
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31% of shoppers said they were likely to buy the same product again after Prime Day, even without a deal.
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53% said they were likely to make a repeat purchase.
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52% said ads reminded them to buy products after Prime Day.
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And overall, there’s a 216% increase in awareness and a 214% increase in consideration during the build-up.
Take those numbers with a pinch of salt — they’re from Amazon’s own data, after all — but even so, it shows just how much momentum the event generates.
Tom:
Exactly. We both bought things on Prime Day last year, and millions of others did too.
That’s why preparation is key — and the first thing to look at is your budgets.
If your daily budget normally lasts 24 hours, it won’t on Prime Day. Traffic skyrockets, and you might run out by 11 a.m. before your deal even goes live.
So start testing now — increase budgets gradually in the weeks leading up to the event. You’ll see engagement rise as window shoppers start adding items to carts and wish lists.
Also, remember there’s a cut-off date for submitting Lightning Deals — usually three to four weeks before the event. Last year it was May 31st, so check that deadline and plan ahead.
George:
Absolutely. You’ll also want to prepare your cash flow because both budgets and bids will need to increase.
Prime Day is extremely competitive — often even more so than Q4 — because the event is short and intense.
And as you said, not everyone needs to go all-in. If you’re already ranking organically and performing well, there’s no need to increase spend just for the sake of it.
Tom:
Exactly. Know where you stand in the market. If you already hold strong organic and sponsored placements, increasing your budget might not make much difference.
But for others, it’s worth getting your deals submitted early and planning a scalable strategy that doesn’t break profitability.
George:
Yes, and that’s key — profitability.
Last year we saw a lot of clients focusing more on profitability over scale, rather than just trying to chase higher revenue or TACoS at all costs.
If you’re already ranking well, you don’t need to throw more money at ads just to keep your spot. For smaller or newer sellers, focus on long-term strategies, not just one-day wins.
Prime Day is incredible for visibility, but it’s not going to turn a $700k seller into a $2M seller overnight. Think long-term.
Tom:
Exactly. And don’t forget the power of DSP (Demand-Side Platform) for post-Prime Day remarketing.
Prime Day floods your funnel with new traffic, so your remarketing audiences grow massively. Even if some people were just browsing, you can retarget them later with smaller discounts or coupons.
George:
Yes — but do it wisely. I saw an Amazon stat saying 14% of Prime Day shoppers have no idea what they plan to buy.
That’s great for exposure, but when remarketing, focus on shorter lookback windows — like 7 or 14 days. If they haven’t converted by then, they’re probably not going to.
Tom:
Agreed. We often create unique remarketing audiences just for that Prime Day window. It’s such a mixed bag of people — from genuine buyers to impulse browsers.
George:
Exactly. And another stat: 82% of shoppers said they’re likely to discover new brands leading up to Prime Day.
That’s something we leveraged last year. We ran single-keyword ranking campaigns for high-volume SKUs ahead of the event.
One client had their best month ever — over £370k in Prime Day sales across just two days — because we built ranking momentum early.
It doesn’t work for everyone, but if you can get your listings ranking before Prime Day, you’ll benefit from both the search surge and the conversion spike.
Tom:
Completely. And even if your ACoS goes up for a few days, it can still be worth it if you’re building a new customer base.
You’re not just paying for clicks — you’re paying to acquire new buyers who might purchase again later.
George:
Exactly. It might not be profitable during those two days, but it could pay off over the next few months.
Tom:
This is actually the ninth Prime Day now. I’ve been through most of them, and I think the biggest mistake I’ve seen in recent years is advertisers dropping their bids too quickly after the event.
A few years ago, everyone would scale back immediately, and that worked fine. But now, the market is far more competitive — no one wants to blink first.
So if you pull back too hard, you’ll lose visibility while your competitors stay high.
George:
Right — it’s very much a pay-to-play environment now. Sponsored placements dominate, and organic results get pushed further down.
Tom:
Exactly. Another big mistake is waiting too long to start ramping up.
I’ve seen brands do better sales the day before Prime Day than during the event itself, just because they started early.
People browse deals pages in advance and often buy before the event officially begins — especially if they think something might sell out.
So don’t leave your prep until July 10th. Start optimising now.
George:
Agreed. And another thing — Prime Day’s influence goes beyond Amazon.
We’re seeing non-Amazon retailers running their own sales during that week because consumer purchase intent is so high.
So if you have your own Shopify store or website, that’s a great time to run parallel deals or campaigns on social media.
Tom:
Absolutely. People are just in that “shopping mode.”
One of my friends last year panicked and bought socks — just because they were 50% off!
Everyone gets caught up in it, whether it’s TVs, tech, or random impulse buys.
George:
Exactly. Which leads nicely into the next question — how can smaller businesses compete with the big advertisers during Prime Day?
Tom:
Good one. It’s tough, but not impossible.
Smaller sellers should focus on being strategic. Prioritise remarketing and sponsored brands with great creative. Test headlines and images.
We’ve seen the same ad creative perform totally differently just from changing the headline — one version at 40% ACoS, another at 10%. So test, refine, and double down on what works.
George:
Yes, and if your budget is limited, pause underperforming campaigns during Prime Day. Focus your spend on the ones that consistently perform.
Otherwise, you’ll just spread your budget too thin and hurt overall performance.
Tom:
Exactly. You’ll do more harm than good by keeping weak campaigns live.
We’ve even seen big sellers switch off entire catalogues except their top performers — and it worked brilliantly.
And for smaller brands, Prime Day can be a great chance to capture market share if the big players sit it out.
George:
Absolutely. But set clear budget limits. We’ve seen glitches and overspend issues during events like Black Friday in the past, so don’t double or triple budgets impulsively.
Tom:
Agreed. Use Budget Rules instead — let Amazon automatically increase budgets within safe limits rather than manually bumping spend throughout the day.
And always cross-check sales between your Ad Console and your Business Reports — the latter tends to be more accurate if there’s any discrepancy.
George:
Exactly.
To summarise, Prime Day brings huge traffic and conversion potential, but also higher costs and intense competition.
Go in prepared, set clear goals, and don’t get carried away.
Tom:
Perfectly said, George. That’s a great summary.
It’s been brilliant having you back on the podcast.
George:
Thanks, mate. Always a pleasure.
Tom:
To everyone listening — if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with other Amazon sellers and colleagues. You’ll also find a blog version of this episode at clearadsagency.com.
Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn, and if you’d like help managing your advertising, visit clearads.co.uk to book a free audit or strategy call.
Until next time — goodbye from me and from George.
George:
See you on the next episode!
