How is Black Friday’s late arrival redefining Q4 Sales Strategies on Amazon?
Black Friday has traditionally been seen as the high point of the festive shopping season, but this year’s later date – and the extended pattern of Christmas buying behaviour over the past few years – is reshaping how brands should approach Q4 2024, with valuable lessons for the future…
Sales patterns from the past few years have clearly shown that, while Black Friday itself remains significant on Amazon, the event is increasingly becoming a peak in an extended November sales period rather than the festive season’s starting gun.
The complexities of Q4 2024
Midway through November, our CEO Andrew Banks ran a LinkedIn poll to gauge trading sentiment this month compared to last year.
The results showed that:
- 44% of brands are trading up
- 27% are holding steady
- 29% are trading down
This paints a complex picture of Q4 – and it also raises questions about how December will shape up, not to mention what strategies brands should adopt to maximize the overlap between Black Friday’s tail end and the Christmas rush.
The rise of the long November sales period
New research by eBay Advertising UK highlights that two-thirds of UK consumers have already started their holiday shopping, with only 7% waiting until December to buy gifts.
And this trend toward a longer, more gradual shopping season fundamentally changes how brands should think about Black Friday and beyond.
Instead of a single-day frenzy, Black Friday is now a key milestone within a month-long wave of promotions, meaning brands need to look to a more sustained and targeted approach.
“While the festive shopping period is evolving, with consumers starting earlier and spreading out their purchases, key moments like Black Friday remain critical for driving sales. Sellers may need to rethink their approach to peak season—not by abandoning big promotional periods, but by complimenting them with targeted strategies throughout the season.”
– Billy Mills, Sr Director, Global Advertising, eBay
What This Means for Amazon Sellers
Amazon brands need to view November as a marathon, not a sprint.
With Black Friday sales extending into early December – and then likely to be followed by a rapid pivot to pre-Christmas discounts – a clear and proactive strategy is more important than ever.
What does that mean? Our experts recommend you focus on:
Avoiding stock imbalances
It’s all-too easy to face leftover inventory challenges during peak periods. Careful demand forecasting and inventory management are the keys to staying agile as consumer spending ebbs and flows.
Super-strategic Advertising
Well-timed campaigns are crucial for staying visible during this extended season. Whether it’s leveraging Sponsored Products or running high-impact Black Friday deals, look to creating consistent, relevant visibility all through December.
Emphasising value
Consumers are increasingly intentional in their spending, prioritising deals that offer value over impulse buys. Making sure that your product pages and campaigns clearly communicate your brand’s unique benefits and the pull of any applicable discounts will be vital for converting savvy shoppers.
Need help to maximise your Amazon sales success? Speak to our award-winning team today
Speculating on December’s Landscape
As Black Friday extends into early December, downtime is likely to be minimal before the Christmas buying frenzy kicks in – and this creates both opportunities and challenges.
Our experts recommend you look to:
Sustaining momentum
You’ll need to keep your brand visible and relevant, maintaining your presence throughout December to capitalise on steady consumer demand.
Generating targeted engagement
Yes, broad promotional periods drive volume, and that’s great – but combining a wider footfall with tailored campaigns designed for niche audiences can deliver higher returns.
Staying as agile as possible
A late Black Friday means Sellers need to seamlessly shift from one phase of promotions to the next without missing a beat, so agility is crucial. How do you stay so agile? We’ve said it before (and will say it again), but accurate, real-time data is the key.
And if you’ve been caught out this year? Make the most of what you can and simply dust off, learn from your challenges and build a stronger foundation for next time.
The Bottom Line
This year’s peak trading season isn’t being driven by big events like Black Friday, it’s a strategic interplay of promotions across an extended November-December period – and it’s likely to stay this way for the foreseeable.
Sellers who adapt to this new rhythm – focusing on agility, value and consistent engagement – will be best positioned to close their Q4 sales on a high note.
With our commitment to commercial clarity, rigour and vision, our expert team is perfectly placed to help your brand thrive – no matter how the marketplace landscape twists and turns.
Ready to transform your Amazon approach? Let’s chat.
Amazon Vendor Negotiations: How to protect your Brand and maximise success
It’s that time of year – Vendor negotiations are here, marking what can be one of the most high-pressure periods of the calendar for many. But don’t worry, because we’ve got just what you need…
From November to February, Vendor Managers are laser-focused on securing increased investment, internal stakeholders are equally focused on improving margins – and add in the looming expectation that Q4 should deliver record-breaking results?
It’s easy to see why navigating these conversations can feel like you’re walking a tightrope.
But the good news is that, with the right strategy, you can come out of these negotiations with your margins intact, your brand protected and your long-term growth safeguarded.
Are you ready for the negotiation table?
Whether you’re a seasoned Amazon Vendor or preparing for your first round of annual terms, thorough preparation is non-negotiable.
Successful Vendor negotiations don’t just happen by chance – they’re the result of clear data, a well-thought-out plan and strong alignment within your team.
Some quick tips from our experts?
Know your numbers
Come armed with data that demonstrates your value to Amazon, from sales performance to operational excellence.
Plan, plan, plan…
Map out each stage of the negotiation, from initial offers to escalation routes. This ensures you’re never caught off guard.
Educate your stakeholders
Make sure your internal teams understand Amazon’s goals and negotiation tactics, so they can set realistic expectations and align with your overall strategies.
Be patient
It’s not a race. Take the time to assess everything that’s put to you fully.
Build strong relationships
It’s well worth the time to develop trust between Amazon’s team and yours.
Don’t be scared to escalate
When things aren’t going your way? Know when to escalate if terms aren’t going in your favour.
Daunted? You don’t have to do it alone
At Venture Forge, we understand the complexities of Vendor negotiations.
So last month, we brought together a panel of experts for an insightful webinar designed to help you protect your brand and drive success – one which you can watch on demand now.
What will you learn?
You’ll get:
- Expert insights from industry leaders, as they share best practices for negotiating and enforcing terms with Amazon.
- Proven strategies to ensure Amazon’s compliance with your negotiated terms, and to reduce risks and safeguard profitability.
- Live Q&A wisdom, with answers to real-world challenges conducted at the end of the session.
The session was led by Venture Forge’s own CEO Andrew Banks, alongside our new Head of Vendor Services Travis Chappell, Tom Johnson from Cosatto, and Chris Khoo, Director of Khoo Commerce – bringing you years of collective experience in managing successful Amazon partnerships.
And if you need more help?
Negotiating with Amazon is a complex process, but it’s also an opportunity to strengthen your business, protect your brand and lay the groundwork for a successful year ahead.
Our specialist Vendor team are the experts in turning negotiation stress into strategic success.
To enlist their help to master your Vendor terms, get in touch today.
Useful Links
- Watch on demand – Navigating Negotiations: From Negotiation to Government and Enforcement
- Watch on demand – Amazon Vendor Mastery: Winning Strategies for Marketplace Success
3 Tech Tools for Amazon Success in 2025
We all know tech is fundamental to our success on Amazon now – but which tech categories are the most important? From helping to discover untapped product opportunities to managing ad spend and building customer loyalty, here we shine a spotlight on 3 essential tech categories – and how you can make the most of them for your brand…
AI – Smarter decisions, faster results
Artificial Intelligence has become indispensable for Amazon sellers, with tools for everything from streamlining operations to uncovering opportunities and optimising performance.
One standout among Amazon’s own offering? The Product Opportunity Explorer is a great, and powerful, tool for identifying profitable, low-competition niches and guiding product development.
You can use it to:
- Discover profitable opportunities by analysing customer and competitor data.
- Accelerate product research with insights from search terms, product reviews and customizable filters.
- Gain a competitive edge by identifying untapped niches and setting competitive prices.
- Avoid seasonal dips, using the tool to track sales trends and plan inventory.
- Increase product visibility by uncovering high-performing keywords for titles, descriptions and Amazon ads.
And Amazon Ads is a brilliant place to use AI technology, helping to navigate such a complex and fast-changing platform with greater ease than ever before.
Here at Venture Forge, our award-winning team harnesses our own proprietary AI-powered ad-tech platform, which is designed to manage ad spend at scale and deliver unbeatable performance – giving our clients access to automated recommendations that help us optimise campaigns in real time, rules-based bid management for flexible and cost-effective ad strategies and competitor insights to outpace rivals in your category – among other things.
Our advice on how to use AI?
- Use AI tools like Product Opportunity Explorer to identify new opportunities and refine your product strategies.
- Pair Amazon’s AI capabilities with specialist ad tech like ours for smarter spend and better sales performance.
- Combine AI insights with human expertise to ensure the data aligns with your brand’s goals and values.
Speak to our award-winning Amazon Ads experts today
Data Analytics: Unlocking insights for growth
Data is already the lifeblood of any successful Amazon strategy and, going forwards, as Amazon gets ever-busier and margins tighten, it’s the brands that harness the full power of analytics that will keep ahead of the competition.
Why? Because it’s the little refinements made on the back of actionable insights that give a brand the edge – coming from things like the constant monitoring of performance metrics and tracking customer behaviour.
There are countless reasons why the smart use of data is game-changing for any Amazon brand, so here we’ll list just 3:
- Data gives you total visibility on performance, so you can understand what’s working and what’s not, and make quick adjustments to campaigns or listings.
- Data allows you to dive deep into customer preferences and buying habits to accurately tailor your products and ads.
- Data is invaluable for correct forecasting, helping you to anticipate demand and plan inventory to avoid stockouts or overstocking.
Our advice on how to use Data Analytics?
- Regularly review your analytics dashboards to identify trends and opportunities.
- Use insights to test and refine listings, ad campaigns and promotional strategies.
- Invest in training your team to interpret and act on analytics, so you can make sure every decision is data-driven.
CRM Platforms: Building loyalty and repeat business
Amazon’s marketplace may feel transaction-driven, but it’s also a powerful platform for building customer loyalty – and that’s where CRM tools come in.
Helping brands to track buyer behaviour, identify repeat customers and create tailored experiences that boost lifetime value, they’re fundamental to creating the kind of loyal customer base that every brand dreams of.
What makes a good CRM such a game-changer?
They allow for personalisation, meaning you can engage customers with targeted campaigns, upsells and reorders.
They foster loyalty, helping you retain customers by providing a seamless, customer-first experience.
And they offer a complete view of your customer interactions across all your sales channels – a level of omnipresent insight that’s essential for any e-Comm brand serious about growth.
Our advice on how to use a CRM
- Leverage CRM insights to optimise your Amazon listings and campaigns, making them more relevant to your audience.
- Use post-purchase behaviour data to identify opportunities for repeat sales or loyalty incentives.
- Align your CRM data with your analytics to create a unified, data-driven approach to customer engagement.
At Venture Forge, we combine cutting-edge technology with commercial clarity, rigour and vision to deliver measurable results for brands on Amazon.
Ready to transform your approach and dominate your category? Let’s chat.
What if Amazon’s “Black Friday Week Show” sets the stage for pre-Christmas sales?
Hands up who else thinks Amazon’s Black Friday Week Show, where Rylan and a cast of celebrity guests talk about their best bargains, could prove to be quite the traffic driver for brands to capitalise on in the weeks leading up to Christmas?
If nothing else, Rylan’s highlighted products clearly mirror what Amazon sees as their biggest potential sellers through the festive season – and savvy brands can use any extra visibility to drive sales throughout December.
With products like the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer, Bose Headphones and Fitbit making Rylan’s Top 10 list, here’s who can ride the wave – and how.
Categories getting the Celebrity momentum
- Tech & Gadgets: Tech products set to be featured include perennial tech favourites like the Fire TV Stick 4K Max, SteelSeries Gaming Mouse and Bose Headphones.
- Home & Kitchen: The top 10 includes the Ninja Foodi Air Fryer and Bosch Cordless Drill.
- Health & Beauty: And this always-strong category is set for a boost, with Rylan listing the ELEMIS Face Mask, Bedhead Shampoo Set and St. Tropez Tan Mousse – all perfect nods to the self-care trend and great stocking fillers or pampering gifts.
How brands can leverage the buzz for Christmas
- When the show is over, these featured categories are sure to remain popular for Christmas shoppers, so make sure your products in these areas are promoted prominently in holiday campaigns.
- Heavily target gift shoppers by updating your listings to include keywords like “perfect gift,” “holiday must-have,” or “ideal for [specific audience].”
- Leverage traffic from highlighted brands, because products in adjacent categories like kitchen accessories, tech add-ons and beauty gift sets will be able to benefit from cross-selling opportunities.
- Increased traffic to these categories presents an opportunity to ramp up Sponsored Products and Display Ads for more visibility – aiming for placements near related products or on pages for complementary items.
- And don’t forget your Holiday Bundles! Combine products into bundles for greater perceived value. For instance, pairing an air fryer with recipe books or beauty products with gift packaging can encourage higher basket sizes.
By leaning into the featured trends and categories, brands can make the most of the visibility and interest generated by the show to capture pre-Christmas sales.
At Venture Forge, we help brands take advantage of every opportunity to shine on Amazon during peak seasons. From crafting high-converting ads to optimising product listings, we ensure your brand is ready to thrive – even in the busiest weeks of the year.
Ready to make this Christmas your biggest yet? Let’s talk.
