Prime Day July 11 and 12, 2023: A Practical Ad Plan

Amazon has confirmed Prime Day 2023 for July 11 and 12. That gives sellers under three weeks to finalize plans. This year there is a new factor to work around: FBA capacity limits, which control how much stock you can have in Amazon’s network.

Here is a practical ad plan for this year’s event.

Start with capacity and stock

Check your Capacity Monitor for July. If you are close to your limit, prioritize space for the products most likely to sell during Prime Day. We explained how capacity limits work in our post on FBA capacity limits.

• Calculate days of cover for each product at event level sales.
• Do not push products that will sell out early.
• Keep stock in a 3PL ready to send right after the event.

Two to three weeks out

• Clean up campaigns. Cut wasted search terms and move proven keywords to exact match.
• Refresh listings. Main images, bullets and A+ Content on your top products. Add a product video if you do not have one. Our guide to product videos can help.
• Confirm deals. Check that any deals, coupons or Prime exclusive discounts are approved.

The week before

• Raise budgets gradually on your best campaigns.
• Run Sponsored Brands video and product collection ads on category keywords.
• Use Sponsored Display to reach shoppers who viewed your products.
• Note your baseline numbers so you can measure the event.

July 11 and 12

• Raise daily budgets on top campaigns so they last through the evening.
• Bid up on exact match keywords with strong conversion.
• Fully fund branded campaigns.
• Check budgets and stock several times each day.
• Pause ads on products close to selling out.

After the event

• Lower budgets over one to two weeks, not overnight.
• Retarget viewers who did not buy.
• Harvest new search terms and add negatives.
• Restock quickly within your capacity limits.
• Review results: total sales, TACoS, new-to-brand orders and organic rank.

Keep profit in view

Many brands are still focused on profit this year, as we discussed in January in our post on cutting ad costs. Prime Day is a chance to grow, but do not chase sales on low margin products. Put your strongest push behind products that bring in new customers who will buy again.

The bottom line

Prime Day 2023 is about smart stock planning as much as smart ads. Use your capacity wisely, push proven winners hard during the event and keep going afterwards. If you want help with your Prime Day ads, see our Amazon PPC management service or request a free audit.

FAQs

When is Prime Day 2023?

Prime Day 2023 runs on July 11 and 12.

How do capacity limits affect Prime Day?

They cap how much stock you can have in Amazon’s network, so you need to prioritize space for products most likely to sell during the event.

Should I keep ads running after Prime Day?

Yes. Lower budgets gradually and run retargeting so you hold the rank you gained and win back shoppers who did not buy.