September 16, 2021

 Q4 for CPG Brands  HOW TO PREPARE & WHAT TO EXPECT 

Hi everyone! Hope you’ve had a nice summer.It's now been 18 months since the pandemic sparked an online grocery boom and, just like the pandemic, it seems like we are still wavering in perpetual uncertainty that feels a long way from a "new normal". Amazon and other only-grocery outlets weathered a massive increase in demand and volume and, even though the landscape has changed significantly over this period due to the reaction of many industry players, the global supply chain still has yet to fully recover.With this in mind, below are our recommendations for Q4. Below that you’ll see some of our other company and industry news. Please reach out if you’d like to chat about Amazon or eComm!-Chris and JonSupply Chain and Inventory Send in inventory now, and allocate priority to your best sellersMost brands we work with are still struggling with Amazon's inventory limits which, while allegedly dependent upon velocities, seem to change most frequently in reaction to Amazon's warehouse and supply chain capacity.We're recommending brands send in inventory to cover through December now, focusing inventory allotments on your best sellers that will make the majority of your Q4 sales. Any challenges you have right now with receiving, freight, etc. will likely only get worse as it gets closer to Q4. This can make planning for Black Friday and Cyber Monday a little tricky - decisions have to be made now.Freight challenges, usually related to missed pickups, are commonplace across brands we know and represent in the CPG industry. Our view is that these are multi-symptomatic: labor shortage, lack of capacity, miscommunication with 3rd party carriers, routing issues, and receiving challenges at FCs. We've found no "silver bullet" to make things smooth here, but our best remedy has been "carrying [this] across the finish line" - calling the carrier direct to confirm appointments, double confirming with your 3PL, and overall ensuring all the connection points are made. Some brands have had success booking private freight with a singular company or truck driver they trust.Rising Ad CostsFocus on new ad inventory and content optimization to keep costs downA number of data providers have reported that Amazon ad efficiency is down as much as 10-25% since the beginning of the pandemic. Anecdotally, this makes sense: many major brands now take eComm and Amazon more seriously, and budgets have been reallocated to Amazon following iOS privacy changes.That said, we recommend the following to keep costs low:

1. Focus on optimizing your hero images to improve your click-thru rate, one of the most important determinants of advertising cost. Details matter here: make sure image text is legible on mobile, show how much product the consumer gets, have product sampling outside the box, highlight key callouts on your packaging with light Photoshop.

2. Spend on newer ad inventory that is less competitive to get higher return and steal share against your competitors. Even over a year later, Sponsored Brand Video converts very efficiently. Similarly, thoughtful and narrowly targeted audience segments in DSP can drive significant new to brand customers.

 Participate in Black Friday Take part in Black Friday to enhance your Sales Rank, particularly if you are a holiday or gift-friendly product. We believe Black Friday to be an essential CPG sales day, as Sales Rank improvements at the onset of the holiday season can meaningfully increase your share of traffic during the highest traffic month on Amazon. Furthermore, consider if some of your products can be re-merchandised as gifts, either with holiday-related descriptions or images. We've had success branding bundles as "fall" or "harvest" - which can last through the full holiday season.

Celebrate with us!Last month Inc. magazine released their 2021 Inc. 5000 list, ranking the fastest-growing private companies in America, and we made the cut! Cartograph ranks 122nd in the nation, and 5th in Texas! We are proud of the work our team has done this year to accomplish this, and of the growth we’ve built in partnership with the amazing clients we have. Kudos to all!

Hard to believe we're already in the holiday advertising season, but here we are. Below are some key dates to keep in mind as we gear up for the holiday blitz:

September 17

Deadline to submit deals 

October 21

Inbound shipping cutoff for Vendors

November 25

Black Friday begins

November 28

Black Friday ends

November 29

Cyber Monday begins

Amazon Surpasses WalmartThe deck of a NYT article this month read, "Proof that the online future has arrived: The biggest e-commerce company outside China has unseated the biggest brick-and-mortar seller". The headline, even more succinctly put it, "People Now Spend More at Amazon Than at Walmart". For the last 5-10 years, this gap was driven almost entirely by Walmart's grocery offering, which has clearly been and will continue to be a focus for Amazon.

Heard it Through the GrapevineAs of October 12th, Amazon's Vine program will no longer be free. The cost moving forward will be $200 per ASIN - which is still well worth it, considering how important those first reviews are to a burgeoning product or brand. If you can, beat the deadline and enroll your products now for those free first 30 reviews

Reply to ReviewsAmazon now offers you the ability to reach out directly to buyers who left a 1-3 star review (AKA bad reviews). The messages are template only, and there are two types: Courtesy Refund (offer a full refund or a replacement item) and Customer Review (ask for a reply & offer to address any issues or concerns listed in the review). A bonus: the Order ID number can be found in the subject line, allowing you to back-trace issues to the exact order. This can be found in Seller Central under Brands > Customer Reviews