How I Plan to Beat the Summer Slowdown (and Inflation)!
If you have any experience selling online, then you know that sales are typically slower in the summer months than any other time of year! People may be enjoying the weather, travelling, or spending time with family and friends. While people will still be shopping online, it's typically not their primary focus, hence the slower sales.
Also, with inflation at historical highs, people will likely be looking for ways to save money. This probably means that they're not going to be shopping online as much. I mean, it's hard to justify paying $20 for some lotion when you're paying over $5 for a gallon of gas! Therefore, I'm expecting the summer slowdown to be much worse this year.
I'm not writing this post to scare you away from selling on Amazon because there is still so much potential! I just want you to be aware that it's normal for sales to be slower this time of year and to not get discouraged. In this post, I will share how I plan to beat the summer slowdown and inflation!
I believe that I'm already seeing the impact of this on my sales. My sales this month have been significantly slower than my two previous months and there's no other rationale for it!
It's so easy to get discouraged when your sales are slow, but don't! You may just need to take a few steps back, work on your business, and determine what you're selling the most of. This is what I am doing, and it is also my solution to continue running a profitable Amazon business through this difficult season.
My Plan
The first part of my plan is to review my sales over the past 3 months and determine what categories are selling the most. You can do this on your own, or you can run the category profitability report on Inventory Lab and review the number of units sold in each category. If you want to try out Inventory Lab, click here to get a 30-day free trial!
My top 3 categories are exactly what I was expecting: grocery, health and beauty, and pet products. Even during tough times, people still need to eat, take care of themselves, and feed their pets! While I won't stop sourcing other categories, like shoes and toys, I may be a little stricter on my purchases as I want to make a quick flip and not get stuck with the items.
Even with slower sales, it's important to continue to work on your business and find ways to improve. You may take this time to get ungated in other categories and brands, prep for Q4, or both!
Therefore, the second part of my plan is to work on my business! This is a prime time to get organized and ensure you're up to date on the "boring" business stuff, like bookkeeping. File your receipts. Review your budget. Make changes accordingly. Oh, and as my husband would say, buy more bitcoin.
During this time, I also plan to look for other opportunities to grow my business through selling on other platforms and more! Exciting things are happening for me this summer and I can't wait to share with you all - first announcement coming on June 1, 2022!
It is also part of my plan to work on my blog and grow my following! I truly enjoy sharing my Amazon selling journey with you and am always looking for ways to improve. I plan to continue to blog weekly and start sharing more of my shopping trips through Instagram Reels. If you would like to see posts on certain topics, please leave a comment or send a message to contact@retailrogue.com!
And finally, the last part of my plan is to start prepping for Q4! While it may seem a bit early, it's not! Time flies when you're having fun and it will be October before we know it.
Last Q4, I had over $23,000 worth of product sales! This year, I'm determined to beat that.
All categories sell well in Q4, but toy sales are the most popular (at least they were for me last year). Therefore, I want to get ungated in more toy brands, particularly Disney, Fischer-Price, and Barbie.
I'm currently a member of Nikki Kirk's BOLO group, but she also offers a Quarterly Elite group. I plan to budget accordingly so that I can be a member of both groups in Q4 because more leads equal more sales! Click here if you're interested in joining the BOLO group today!
We, as Amazon sellers, have a lot going against us right now, but there are still plenty of profitable items out there. So, don't be afraid of the summer slowdown or inflation because I'm not! Review your sales. Identify which categories you are selling the most of. Work on your business. Make smart decisions. And go sourcing!