Guide to Start Selling Beauty Products on Amazon
Selling products in the Amazon beauty category is a double-edged sword. Your products are in direct competition with millions of other products, but on the one hand, they are seen by millions of consumers.
Since almost all well-known beauty brands have already joined Amazon, it can take time for new brands to gain market share. This blog post will discuss everything a seller need to start selling beauty products on Amazon, including helpful tips from Amazon beauty consultants.
Amazon Beauty Category – What to Know?
Amazon has launched a beauty category for the first time in its history. Previously, beauty products had to go through a lengthy approval process before being listed. In addition, the retail giant introduced three brand-new subcategories that require specific approval to access: Professional Beauty, Luxury Beauty, and Independent Beauty.
So, now Amazon’s beauty category is available to all sellers; they have set up an exclusive club where all the actual sales occur. If you sell outside this group, it will be harder for your brand to get attention, traffic, and sales.
These prestigious, invitation-only subcategories include the most well-known beauty brands, leaving other sellers to their devices. Let’s talk about these categories first; then, we’ll talk about how a brand can get more exposure outside this realm.
1. Amazon Premium Beauty
According to Amazon, it is a “curated collection of the world’s most sought-after luxury brands.” In this range, you’ll find well-known brands like La Roche Posay and Haus Laboratories (Lady Gaga) and lesser-known brands. We’ll have to guess for now since Amazon doesn’t say what it takes to qualify a brand in the premium Amazon beauty category.
2. Amazon Professional Beauty
According to Amazon, “Professional beauty consists of a curated selection of high-quality products that can be found in professional settings such as spas, salons, and dermatologist offices.” Everything a professional needs to care for his clients’ nails, skin, and hair can be found in this category. Furthermore, professional beauty falls into two categories: salon and spa services for the skin of professionals.
3. Indie Beauty
Indie Beauty The newest of the three subcategories, Indie Beauty, was founded in 2018. This includes skincare and cosmetics brands not sold directly at big-box stores like Target, Walmart, or Ulta Beauty. Brands not carried by any major retailer and at least 50% owned by an independent operator are eligible for indie beauty stores. Amazon also states that all products must be suitable for Prime and that the brand must have an active storefront.
10 Tips for Selling in the Amazon Beauty Category
So now that we know the layout of the Amazon beauty categories, let’s talk about how you can go from ungated to an exclusive club. Amazon seeks to promote brands. That is already attracting attention and selling well in their retail environment or an untapped category.
Retail giants are also not interested in brands that are not recognized. If you’re already selling in the Amazon beauty category and want to get traffic, here are some tips to help you:
1. Do what Amazon does
Today, Amazon ranks with Walmart as the top place to shop for beauty products. With its super-fast 2-day shipping policy, competitive pricing, and wide selection of products, Amazon is gaining market share in the beauty industry.
In short, customers come to Amazon because they have a pleasant experience. Do the same with your shoppers. Read reviews and find out what bothers them. With this in mind, improve your product, detail page, price, shipping, or images – but be sure to have a shopping box.
Also, conduct surveys with your existing customers and find out what they say about your products. What are the top reasons why they love your product, and what are the top three reasons they don’t?
If you can solve these sticking points and improve your customers’ shopping experience, nothing can stop you from becoming a successful beauty seller on Amazon.
2. Don’t Forget Mens Beauty Products
It may surprise you, but men buy cosmetics more often than women. Women don’t always shop for highlighters and accessories but also care for their groom. Recently, there has been a traditional belief that men should not use skin care products. Some studies estimate that the men’s personal care industry is expected to reach $166 billion, and the men’s grooming market will grow by 8.9% annually.
3. Focus on Gen Z Shoppers with Social Media
Where do Gen Z shoppers spend most of their time? Right- Social media. They are mobile natives, and social media greatly influences their lives. About 45% of Gen Z’ers say digital and social media influencers influence their purchases. So why not take advantage of social media to grow your customer base? Hire a beauty or fashion influencer and ask them to endorse your product to increase your reach.
4. Build a Brand
To say that there is a lot of competition in the beauty industry would be an understatement. There is a pool of products, and it becomes difficult for sellers to differentiate their product from the next—one of the best ways to build a brand on Amazon. When customers trust you as a brand, it’s easier to survive and thrive, no matter how fierce the competition is.
Although building a brand takes time, effort, and investment, the perks make it worth it. In addition, Amazon offers several tools focused on building and promoting your brand on the platform. And the best part is that they are free. Whether it’s enhanced brand content, Premium A+ content, or a storefront, all sellers with a Amazon Brand Registry can leverage them to tell their unique story and showcase their ethics to customers.
5. Bring in Outside Traffic
You realize that if you have just listed the product, the chances of your product ranking on the first page are practically zero. So how should you get your products in front of buyers? The best way to do this is by driving Amazon traffic to your product page.
This supplemental traffic helps you make an impression before any additional noise. As you gain momentum in sales, your organic rank will increase, and eventually, you’ll rank on page 1.
6. Know Your Target Audience
Are you selling organic, all-natural effects or niche products for a specific skin type? Understand your target audience and work to bring them to your detail page. Once you have identified your target audience, building a customer base will be easier. Your ad campaigns, description pages, images, and everything should be targeted to attract your niche audience. This will weed out buyers who do not add value and are in your offering.
7. Make Beautiful Packaging
Your product packaging is synonymous with your brand. A beautiful and beautiful packaging conveys a positive image of the material. Make sure you look like the people in the luxury beauty stores and talk to those buying it. Don’t forget to follow Amazon’s packaging and shipping requirements. Otherwise, you will find it challenging to ship products to customers.
8. Get More Reviews
And when you think you’ve had enough, get more. Reviews are social proof that plays a vital role in increasing your conversion rates. In fact, without reviews, your PPC campaigns won’t even work because no matter how much traffic you drive to your detail page, it won’t convert if you don’t have enough five-star reviews on your list.
There are many white hat tricks to get more reviews on Amazon, including enrolling in the Amazon Vine or Early Reviewer program, using product inserts, and using third-party automated email responders. You should respond responsibly to negative reviews to minimize their impact.
9. Build Your Listing
Keyword-rich titles, informative bullet points, story descriptions, enticing images, and Amazon enhanced brand content – your product listing needs to be the best. Even if you’re a relatively new brand, your listing detail pages should be on par (or better) Amazon’s luxury beauty brand.
10. Take Advantage of Amazon Advertising
Using a PPC campaign strategy is not optional when you sell in the Amazon beauty category. Advertising can help get your product on the front page of big-box brands. When done correctly, it can help you instantly increase your reach, visibility, and traffic, which is extremely important for your products, especially newly launched ones.
Remember that your advertising campaigns should have a snowball effect; Gradually, this should lead to organic sales and brand awareness.
Conclusion
If you want to start selling in the Amazon beauty category or face difficulties visualizing your products, our Amazon seller consultant can help. Our team of experts has years of experience navigating the complex structure of Amazon Beauty and can provide you with a brief analysis of your product listing. Contact us today to get started.
