What to Do When your Amazon Sales Are in a Slump

July 11th, 2021


There is a rise in sellers getting in on the action on Amazon. This means that even if your sales have boomed in the past, it is now even more vital for sellers to continuously invest in their listings to avoid Amazon sales declining. Additionally, sellers want to keep tabs on important metrics.

As competition increases, it’s no secret that it’s getting more and more difficult for third-party sellers to capitalize on every potential sale. While it’s normal for sales to fluctuate, especially if your products are seasonal, Amazon sellers should try to take a proactive approach to avoid sharp sales drop-offs that can heavily impact their bottom line. This is why we’re here!

Here are a few ways to stop a sales slump in its tracks by taking advantage of a few expert tips to help differentiate your business from other sellers on this increasingly saturated marketplace.


How to Stop Amazon Declining Sales

Get Traffic to Your Listings

If your product listing isn’t showing up on the first or second page of the search results on Amazon, then you are likely losing out on sales. Have no fear! With a simple round of listing optimization, you can get your product listing(s) to stand out from the rest and up to par with your competitor’s listings.

Amazon ranks a seller's products by the amount of relevant keywords used in the listing title, bullet points, and description, as well as the backend search terms. This can be a daunting task if you have a massive catalog of products. We recommend that you start by optimizing your best-selling products first, then focus on optimizing the rest of your products when you have the time and resources available to do so.

Understand the Seasonality of Your Product(s)

As a seller on Amazon, you will most likely experience peaks and valleys when it comes to sales, especially if your primary products are highly seasonal. For example, if you sell beach towels then you are naturally more likely to have higher sales during the warmer summer months than the colder months of the year.

We recommend keeping track of your monthly and yearly sales numbers so that you can quickly and easily identify any seasonal trends. By identifying key trends, you can have more success at planning for these high and low seasons, and you will be able to forecast the inventory needed for such times in the future.

However, for most sellers, there is typically an increase in sales during Q4 around Black Friday and Cyber Monday as customers are doing their holiday shopping – so make sure to stock up on your most popular products before the holiday shopping season hits.

Don’t Lose Out on the Buy Box Action!

One of the most frequent reasons that a seller is experiencing an Amazon sales slump is simply because they are losing out on their Buy Box placement. Over 80% of Amazon’s sales are directly funneling through the Buy Box. It is essential that sellers keep a close eye on products that are competing for that prime position.

To check if your product currently has the Buy Box, simply go to your product listing and see if there are any other sellers trying to fulfill your product. If you see another seller listed below the “Add to Cart” box, then there is a chance that the seller(s) can end up stealing the Buy Box from you.

You can also check if you’ve retained the Buy Box by viewing your account in Seller Central. We recommend setting up a recurring task to help monitor the Buy Box to make sure that you aren’t losing ownership. Competitive sellers make Buy Box evaluations a high priority practice because the results can be very lucrative.

Remember, Customers Come First

Exceeding Amazon’s expectations when it comes to an exceptional customer experience has always been one of the most important priorities as an Amazon seller, because it helps your Amazon sales rank. With so many sellers listing their wares on the world’s largest eCommerce platform, it has never been more important to deliver an unmatched buyer experience. In this competitive eCommerce climate, inspiring brand loyalty from your Amazon customers is an essential strategy to help cement your status as a trustworthy seller.

Don’t Neglect Your Negative Feedback

Amazon customers can leave feedback for the seller (also known as seller feedback). A pattern of negative seller feedback has the ability to dramatically impact your sales – especially if this feedback goes unaddressed by you, the seller.

If or when you notice a not-so-stellar seller feedback, it is important that you take action right away. First, you can check to see if the seller feedback falls within Amazon’s feedback guidelines. For example, if the customer leaves a seller feedback but it is clearly regarding a specific product, you may be able to remove it according to Amazon’s guidelines.

Amazon will allow you to make a petition to remove any irrelevant seller feedback, and in these cases, the feedback that is successfully removed won’t affect your seller metrics. If the seller feedback is indeed legitimate, then the only way it can be removed is by the customer themselves. If this is the case, do your best to work with the customer to try to resolve any misunderstanding or issues they may have had with your service.

Just make certain, however, that you never pressure a customer to change or retract their seller feedback. This is in clear violation of Amazon’s policies and will not be tolerated. Another tip is to keep track of neutral (3-star) feedback and treat it in the same way as you would a 1-star or 2-star review.

Keep Your Pricing Competitive

If the price isn’t right, then sometimes it doesn’t matter how amazing of a seller you are, or how optimized your product listings are. Our team of experts recommend taking a look at the competition regularly, to keep tabs on current prices.

This is especially important if you are up against multiple sellers who are selling a similar product as yours. Amazon customers, as with most customers, want to get a good deal and find the best bargain. Make sure that you aren’t missing out by listing your product(s) at too high of a price.

Consistently Monitor Your PPC Campaigns

Competitive Amazon sellers use PPC ads to drive traffic to their product listings. If you aren’t constantly monitoring your PPC campaigns, then you could see your Amazon sales declining.

Your Amazon PPC campaign can affect a sales slump in cases where your payment method has been declined, or if your Amazon Sponsored Ad campaign ends. It is important to check in on your PPC campaigns regularly to ensure that you aren’t missing out on potential sales revenue.

Get the Prime Badge

If you are serious about your Amazon business taking off and maintaining momentum, then it is essential that your listings have the Prime badge. With over 150+ million Amazon Prime customers (and counting!), the Prime badge can help give your sales a boost for most products and categories.

In addition to increased sales velocity, the Prime badge also gives Amazon sellers the ability to participate in Amazon's annual Prime Day event. Amazon sellers can either opt for Seller Fulfilled Prime to acquire the Prime badge, or they can choose to go the FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) route.

In the long run, it doesn’t make much sense not to take advantage of using FBA. When you make the switch to FBA, Amazon takes care of so much work for you, from picking and fulfilling orders to handling customer service and other related issues.


Be Proactive

At the end of the day, no seller is immune to Amazon declining sales. Be proactive, keep track of your seller metrics, and your PPC campaigns. Every seller can benefit from proper planning, and by investing in strategic promotions as well as other strategies to combat potential sales slumps and keep your business thriving in the slower seasons.


Are you ready to benefit from properly optimizing your listings and advertising? Learn more about our full suite of services for Seller Central and Vendor Central sellers. Let’s use Amazon’s powerhouse of a platform to its fullest potential for your sales. Let’s chat today!

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