One of the most common mistakes that a brand manufacturer can make is thinking that the success they’ve achieved in a physical store can be directly and easily translated into online success. They make an existing offline product available online for sale, packaged for the in-store experience, without any modification to their strategy and without considering for the buying habits of online consumers. This often results in major problems in both margin and customer experience, and disappoints the manufacturer, the consumer and the buyer.
Brands that have had both online and offline success realize that: 1) not all buyers are the same; 2) online consumers’ shopping preferences differ from those of in-store consumers; and 3) third-party sales reveal the balance needed to achieve success for a brand manufacturer selling on Amazon. To determine optimal eCommerce product offerings, we've looked at some of Amazon's first-party and third-party sellers to come away with three key strategies.