Once the initial bump in sales from people spending gift cards ended, sales have been lower than usual. Why? What am I doing wrong?
It’s not just you
Online sales have gone down for just about everyone. It’s not just you. It probably doesn’t mean you are doing something wrong.
Online sales were flat in the first three months of the year compared with the same period in 2022…
Amazon cloud and ad sales rise as online loses out
BBC Business News
Sales Usually Go Down After Christmas
Spending usually goes up before Christmas. There was a lot of spending and higher commissions for Amazon Prime Day. Now, between returns and lower sales at the beginning of the year, you are starting to see lower income.
Overall, Amazon sales were not bad at the end of the year. Depending on what you promote, your income may or may not have been affected.
Amazon’s holiday revenue beat Wall Street’s expectations…
Amazon’s outlook disappoints as customer budgets stay tight
By Jeffrey Dastin and Tiyashi Datta – Reuters
Why are my commissions lower?
There are a lot of reasons sales may be down.
- The pandemic sent a lot of people to Amazon for just about anything they needed or wanted.
- A lot of people are now back to shopping in stores for the things they ordinarily bought in person before Covid.
- As rent and groceries cost more, people spend less on other things.
Amazon sales have been sluggish as shoppers return to in-store spending after the pandemic and have tightened budgets in response to rising living costs.
Amazon cloud and ad sales rise as online loses out
BBC Business News
Pandemic Increased Online Shopping
If you are new to Amazon Associates, you may not know how much Amazon sales surged during the pandemic. After an initial period when there were a lot of sales that never seemed to ship, sales really went up.
… a big comedown from the pandemic, when sales surged more than 40% in some quarters.
Amazon cloud and ad sales rise as online loses out
BBC Business News
Typical buying patterns may be a lot lower than you have experienced so far. If you started your site recently, you don’t know what to expect.
Some decreases in consumer spending are being compared to higher spending in post-pandemic times. The year-over-year (YoY) growth since 2020 for these companies was substantial, and 2023 looks like a year back to normal.
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
Back to normal might mean lower sales for the products you promote.
Return to In-person Shopping
People are not staying home as much. They are not clicking around on my sites out of boredom.
Whether they are shopping for entertainment or actually looking for something they want, they are more likely to go to a store now than they have been over the last few years.
Increased Cost of Living Lowers Sales
Rent and groceries cost more. A lot of things cost more. There is less money left to buy things I promote.
In groceries, the area where consumers are least likely to cut back, 24% said they plan to decrease spending… Trading down to store-owned brands is one-way consumers can save money.
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
Even as many people are earning more money, they have to spend more of it on needs. People are trying to save money where they can.
96% of surveyed consumers intend to adopt cost-saving behaviors over the next six months. Half of the consumers surveyed are highly concerned about their financial situation, with 42% expecting to decrease their spending across all retail categories significantly.
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
It’s not just you. People have decreased their spending. They are trying to spend less and they are spending it on other things.
Consumers have shifted some spending from tangible goods to services and are looking to spend less.
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
Restaurants and Travel
Fewer people are spending their discretionary income on stuff.
There has also been a shift in consumer spending from goods to services… shift away from tangible products…
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
People want to do things. Not just have things.
US consumers kept spending last year despite historically high inflation, not only shelling out for necessities but also splurging on restaurants, travel and other experiences impeded by the pandemic.
Consumers keep spending. That might not be good news for them or the Fed
By Alicia Wallace, CNN
Over the last few years people have spent more time stuck at home. Now they want to travel.
Inflation and higher living costs may be weighing on consumers’ wallets, but there’s one area where many are unwilling to cut back: travel.
Almost one third (31%) of travelers said that they intend to spend more on travel this year than they did in 2022, according to a recent report from the World Travel and Tourism Council and booking site Trip.com.
That’s after the vast majority (86%) of respondents said last year that they were upping their 2019 travel budgets.
Consumers are “spending more on travel than any other experience,” Julia Simpson, president and CEO of the WTTC, said Monday at the opening of the ITB Berlin travel conference.
Inflation isn’t dampening people’s desire to travel — but travel companies may be missing a trick
Karen Gilchrist CNBC Travel
Sales are Lower and In Lower Commission Categories
I actually seem to have higher traffic on my sites. My clicks are up. Conversion is up. But people are spending less.
… some consumers will shift to less branded products and seek private labels or store brands…
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
A site visitor clicks through to a product, but purchases a lower cost knock off version of it. 3% of $150 is a lot less than 3% of $1200. My Shipped Items is high, but my Shipped Items Revenue is way, way down.
… [surveyed ] consumers are more likely to switch to a cheaper brand of a particular product or even go without a regularly used one (42% of respondents).
Walmart, Amazon, And The Home Depot Agree, Consumer Spending Will Slow In 2023
Shelley E. Kohan Senior Contributor – Forbes
There is nothing you can do about it. There is just no way for someone on Amazon to see why the product you are promoting is worth the extra expense when the little picture looks just the same.
Consumer spending, however, shifted more to value brands in some categories and a greater percentage of sales in home essentials…
Amazon’s outlook disappoints as customer budgets stay tight
By Jeffrey Dastin and Tiyashi Datta – Reuters
Add on sales are lovely. I just love it when someone checks out with their groceries when they buy their ceiling fan. But groceries only pay you 1% commission. That does not add up fast.
Amazon Expected Lower Sales
This was not unexpected.
Amazon forecast it would earn between $0 and $4 billion in operating income this quarter, compared with $3.7 billion in the same period a year prior
Amazon’s outlook disappoints as customer budgets stay tight
By Jeffrey Dastin and Tiyashi Datta – Reuters
I think a lot of people got used to shopping on Amazon for things they would have gone to a grocery store or Walmart for. People who never bought anything on-line before got comfortable with it.
But a lot of them are back to driving to a store.
What Can I Do?
How Can I Get My Amazon Associates Earnings Back Up?
Don’t panic and change everything.
If you were earning money, you did something right. Don’t start second guessing yourself or give up.
Work at adding and improving site content. Be sure your site is maintained.
Amazon Associate Site Maintenance
If you haven’t already, add some additional income streams.