On June 21 & 22, Amazon will hold their 7th annual Prime Day. After last year forced Amazon to move the event to October, Amazon is once again changing things up by holding Prime Day 2021 a month earlier than the usual July date. No matter when in the year Prime Day falls, the two-day sale presents an important opportunity for eCommerce advertisers.

During Prime Day 2020, Amazon Prime members saved over $1.4B worldwide. The inaugural Prime Day was a 24 hour event to celebrate Amazon’s 20th anniversary. Every year or two Amazon extended the hours 2021 Prime Day will be another 48 hours of advertising opportunities.

Amazon has officially announced that Prime Day 2021 will be held June 21 & 22. The move to June appears to be an attempt to comp Q2 pandemic panic buying which further supports the June 21st date. If Amazon waited until June 28-29th, they would run the risk of some orders not shipping before Q2 close, so it is unlikely they would position the event so close to quarter and month-end. Pacvue President Melissa Burdick recently discussed Amazon’s Prime Day on Bloomberg.  

Regardless of Amazon’s priorities, advertisers know the massive opportunities created by Prime Day. Prime Day 2020 saw ROAS for Sponsored Product ads up 43% week-over-week and ad spend for the event was never higher. We have less than a month until June 21, so your preparation should start now! Here is everything you need to know to prepare for and see the best return on your advertising during Amazon Prime Day 2021.

Prime Day 2021 Dates to Know

Here are all the important dates and deadlines associated with Prime Day. Note that the coupon submission deadline is fast approaching and is vital for helping your brand compete during Prime Day.

Deal Tenets + Deal Visibility  

There are a variety of promotion types available to you during Prime Day. Your goals, products, and the type of deals you can offer will help determine which deals you should focus your advertising strategy on. We’ve created a full guide on How Amazon Retail Promotions Affect Marketing Metrics, but here are a few basic requirements and considerations:

What To Do During Lead-In (One Month Out)

The next month is critical to having a successful Prime Day 2021. Now is the time to test and optimize all your existing ad campaigns, keyword bidding, brand collateral, and budgets to make sure you understand what is and isn’t working and adjust accordingly.

What To Do During Actual Lead-In (One Week Out)

Using an eCommerce ad management tool, most of your Prime Day 2021 work will be done in the days leading up to the event as you optimize campaigns and set up any automation necessary to run bids and other settings. Here are a few things to focus on in the actual lead-in:

What To Do the “Day” Of Prime Day 2021

No matter how well you have prepared and set up your automated campaigns, you won’t be able to anticipate everything. Prime Day bidding and CPC can often follow unusual patterns and will most likely require you to adjust your strategy on the fly. Here are a few things to be prepared for during the event:

What To Do After Prime Day is Over

After the rush of Prime Day has passed, your work isn’t done. Now is the time to take advantage of the growth in new customers and traffic and learn from the tracking data you collected.

Further Prime Day Prep

As such an important sales event for eCommerce advertisers, we have covered Prime Day pretty extensively. While the above provides a good overview of everything you need to prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2021, these additional resources can help you overcome specific challenges your brand might be facing.