A note from our CEO

Hi everyone,

Happy end of summer! I’ll keep it short this month as the content in this issue is LONG: we’re covering everything we’re doing to prepare for Q4, October Prime Day through New Year (and New You!).

The biggest difference this year is how much inventory management has grown in complexity: you probably have heard about Amazon placement fees, but you may not be as familiar with capacity bidding, the AWD program, and other ways to ensure you have enough space in Q4.

Said simply, we’re planning ahead more than ever. Everyone’s heard of (or lived) an Amazon inventory crunch in Q4. It’s slow and expensive to fix. But now there are more tools to prepare and prevent those issues.

In this month's newsletter, you'll find:

• Our complete Q4 operations and inventory playbook

• Deal planning strategies for October Prime Day through January

• Latest content ideas that Amazon is allowing

• Why beverage brands should consider AWD (Amazon Warehousing and Distribution) (spoiler: it's a game-changer)

Feel free to reply direct - it goes to my inbox!

Don’t wait on your freight,

Chris

Last Month’s Sales and Ad Spend Numbers (post-Prime Day month)

The Complete Q4 Playbook: Operations, Deals, Content & Ads

1. Operations: The Foundation of Q4 Success

Inventory Planning: Critical Dates You Can't Miss

Key deadlines:

• September 10th: Inventory must land at FCs for October Prime Day

• October 20th: Target arrival for Black Friday/Cyber Monday inventory

• November 15th: Send January inventory (yes, already) to account for 6-8 week delays

Advice from Ginny Chochon, Senior Brand Manager: Send heavy. Plan your pickup by September 1st. Carriers are already getting backed up, and last year we saw pickups delayed by 2-3 weeks even when scheduled early. Small parcel can save you if LTL falls behind. Yes, it's expensive, but less expensive than stockouts.

Capacity Bidding Strategy

If you haven't bid for October capacity yet, do it now. Early July bids were $1.24. Today? You're looking at $4.50+. During Q4, expect to pay far more for space if you've been running lean: storage costs tiple.

Use our breakeven calculator to determine your max bid threshold. Sometimes, paying for capacity is better than missing the selling season entirely.

Middle Mile Innovation: AMZ Prep Partnership

We've partnered with AMZ Prep to revolutionize middle-mile logistics. Here's what it means for Q4:

• Ship to one location; they handle distribution (no more placement fees).

• 3-5 day check-in vs. 2-3 weeks.

• Consolidated shipping reduces costs by up to 20-40%.

• Perfect for brands shipping 5+ pallets.

AWD for Beverage Brands

Albury Pierre has been testing AWD with our beverage portfolio, and the results are compelling:

• West Coast warehouse targeting saves $0.35/box.

• Send single-SKU pallets or 50+ boxes/ASIN for maximum savings.

• Use as backup for Q4 while maintaining regular FC shipments.

• Far cheaper than traditional beverage logistics (which are expensive).

2. Deal Planning: Your Tentpole Event Strategy

October Prime Day (Expected October 10-11)

• Lightning Deals and Best Deals must be scheduled by August 21st (That's passed. If you missed it, focus on PEDs.).

• Reference pricing needs 30+ days of stability.

• Prime Exclusive Discounts are still available; use them.

Black Friday/Cyber Monday

• Schedule deals by October 7th.

• Remember: Cyber Monday is in December this year.

• Lead-in starts earlier every year. Plan for full November activation.

Strategic Considerations:

• Stack Subscribe & Save with deal pricing for consumables.

• Use cart abandoner coupons post-event.

• Virtual bundles can qualify for deals even if individual ASINs don't.

• Consider your client's margin tolerance, and include deal fees in TACOS calculations.

3. Content That Converts: Q4 Optimization

Justus Mai recently found that adding a simple banner to hero images improved CTR from 0.4% to 0.65%. That's major improvement that impacts both organic and paid clicks.

Q4 Content Checklist:

• Hero Images: Add gift boxes, ribbons, or seasonal elements (but ensure they're digital overlays, not physical promises)

• Brand Stores: Winter themes, gift guides, and bundle showcases

• A+ Content: Update with gifting language and holiday use cases

• Backend Keywords: Add gifting terms now (they take 24 hours to index)

4. Advertising: Budget Planning & Creative Strategy

Q4 Ad Strategy Essentials:

• Expect CPCs to spike 60-100% during tentpole events.

• Front-load budgets for Day 1 and Day 4 of multi-day events.

• Update Sponsored Brand creative with holiday themes (have backups; percentage callouts often get flagged).

• Target lower-funnel strategies during high-traffic periods.

• Leverage DSP for retargeting gift purchasers into January.

Preparing for January: The Better-For-You Christmas

New Year, New You Positioning

• Better-for-you brands see natural spikes from gift cards and New Year’s resolutions.

• Update content by December 26th to capture early January traffic.

• Focus Subscribe & Save discounts on retention.

Inventory Reality Check

• November 10th: Ship January inventory.

• Account for 8-week delays through the holidays.

• Watch for fee reductions (unconfirmed but historically offered).

Ad Strategy Shift

• CPCs drop dramatically post-holidays.

• Target high-conversion resolution keywords.

• Double down on what worked during BFCM.

Q4 Team Shoutouts

Shoutout to our Content Expert Committee for sharing their insights. Special recognition to team members already crushing Q4 prep:

• Justus Mai for the eye-opening creative testing insights

• Ginny Chochon for contributing to 50+ brands' inventory plans

• Albury Pierre for pioneering our AWD logistics program

• Hollan Whitlock for the beverage-specific AWD cost analysis

What We're Watching

• Capacity constraints: We are already seeing limits on high-supply ASINs.

• Carrier delays: Pickups are running 1-2 weeks behind schedule.

• Reference pricing: More brands are getting caught by the 30-day rule.

• AI in search: Rufus is driving 10-15% of branded searches. Optimize accordingly.

August Search Term Trends

Each month, we track and analyze search volume and CPCs for popular Amazon search terms. Here are some recent trends we found interesting.