Data Analytics, CRM and AI during the Holiday Season

According to the Amazon study of 5,000 SMBs in France, the UK, Germany, Spain and Italy, businesses that adopt tools like AI and data analytics while investing in customer relations are best placed to seize more sales opportunities during this period. Of these 5,000 European SMEs surveyed, 88% say the end-of-year shopping period is crucial for their growth. By leveraging data analytics and mobilizing AI-driven strategies, successful SMBs no longer just react to trends, they anticipate them. They rely on cutting-edge tools like Opportunity Explorer to understand customer trends, as well as AI tools to personalize interactions and land sales that would be impossible to achieve through traditional methods.

The new rules of success

The study reveals the three main strategies sellers are adopting to take full advantage of the approaching end-of-year shopping season.

1. Data analysis

In the digital age, understanding data is essential. SMBs that track sales trends and consumer behavior make smarter decisions on inventory, pricing and promotions. Companies that rely on data analysis and exploit real-time market trends can convert curious people into buyers at the end of the year. By selling on Amazon, independent sellers have access to a wide range of tools that help them better understand consumer actions, intentions and loyalty⁽¹⁾. In France, 44% of sellers say they are inclined to use strategies based on data analysis to strengthen their visibility and increase sales, in order to stand out in a particularly competitive context.

2. AI technologies

Globally, 40% of these SMEs believe that AI is the scientific sales technique most useful for growthjust behind data analysis. The advent of AI is no longer the future, it is already the present. AI is reinventing the dialogue between businesses and customers and streamlining every aspect of business, from personalized product recommendations to real-time chatbots and enhanced data analytics⁽²⁾. When asked specifically about Amazon’s AI listing creation capabilities and generative AI tool to easily create high-quality product description pages, 77% of SMBs surveyed in Europe indicated that it was a useful feature for their business.

3. Customer relationship management

In France, 37% of salespeople understand the importance of strong customer relationship management strategies to better monitor and maintain relationships with their customers. Building lasting customer relationships is essential to a company’s commercial success. It is therefore essential to have solid CRM systems in place to retain customers, increase sales and effectively manage large volumes of trade.

While many SMEs already exploit this approach, leveraging the full potential of scientific sales techniques can help SMEs turn important sales periods into real drivers of their growth. By leveraging the tools favored by successful sellers – data analysis to make the best decisions, AI to personalize customer interactions and CRMs to build lasting customer loyalty – companies can prepare for the Black Friday and the end-of-year holidays, thanks to strategies that deliver results.

Technology adoption, the main ingredient for success

For SMEs, Black Friday and the end-of-year holidays are no longer just commercial opportunities but the very recipe for success, provided they prepare effectively. Nearly nine out of ten SMEs in Europe say these periods are essential to their growth. Businesses that leverage technology get a head start, optimizing every aspect of their operations to meet demand. In France, 89% of SMEs declare that these highlights are strategic for their growth.

« With Black Friday and the Christmas holidays, the end of the year is the most strategic period for us in terms of sales. We prepare months in advance: we configure every detail on Seller Central to offer an optimal experience to our customers, intensify our advertising investments to maximize our visibility, and offer the most attractive promotions of the year on our flagship products . Consumers buy significantly more during this period, particularly on Amazon. Being present on the marketplace and being able to benefit from the AI-based tools and services it offers has become essential to stand out. Thanks to this targeted strategy, we are transforming this key period into a major growth lever for our company “, explains Benjamin Cohen, CEO and co-founder of Y-Brush.

Consumers are waiting for Black Friday

It is not only for SMEs that the end of year period is important: consumers also count on this period to get good deals on their major purchases. According to the study, 84% of European SMEs agree that consumers wait for Black Friday and Christmas promotions to make their biggest purchases of the year. To meet this consumer demand, SMEs selling on the Amazon store across Europe find several tools and services particularly useful, including:

1. Shipped by Amazon (85 %)
2. Sales multisites (81 %)
3. L’generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), including AI ad creation (81%)
4. THE Seller Central resources (80 %)
5. L’Opportunity Explorer tool (79 %)

Fabien Pons, director of the Amazon.fr Marketplace, declares: “ At Amazon, we understand the crucial role our seller partners play in delighting our customers, especially during the busy holiday shopping season. We have therefore especially focused on providing sellers with tools, services and useful data to support their success. From inventory planning reports to trade promotions to shipping solutions, our goal is to provide business owners with the best resources on the market so they can make the most of periods of high demand. We are committed to being a strategic partner, not just a commercial service provider, to independent sellers. »

(1) sell.amazon.com
sell.amazon.com/blog/announcements
m.media-amazon.com

(2) Generative AI: Amazon deploys new AI-based tools in France to support the growth of its partner sellers