How to Maximize Your Amazon Super Bowl Sales

by Erik Mathes

Happy New Year! In the blink of an eye, the Q4 holiday sales rush is over. But that doesn’t mean Q1 doesn’t have a few sales rushes of its own. With the NFL Playoffs beginning next weekend, now’s the perfect time to gear up for Amazon Super Bowl sales.

In fact, for Amazon sellers, it’s vital to consider the Super Bowl like a national holiday in the U.S. That’s because Amazon Super Bowl sales can shoot your Q1 revenue sky-high—as long as you follow the right strategies.

Just think: Sports merchandise retailer Fathead reported a 60% week-over-week increase in sales during Super Bowl week in 2016. And if these results are any indication, Amazon sellers can also see their sales surge because of the Super Bowl.

Even cooler, Amazon ran its first TV commercial during last year’s Super Bowl, drawing attention for itself and third-party sellers. If they top their ad with Alec Baldwin, Dan Marino, and Missy Elliott, it can help boost sales even more.

Most importantly, don’t stress if you’re not a football fan—or even if you don’t follow football at all. With the right product sourcing strategy, you can still score big with Amazon Super Bowl sales.

Here’s how to do it:

Pay attention to the NFL standings to know the best teams

By paying just a little attention to the NFL, Amazon sellers can gain vast insight into popular products to source.

Even if you only know three NFL teams and don’t understand the difference between a touchdown and a touchback, relax. All you need to do is check out the NFL standings on ESPN.com and you’ll see the top teams. There, you can also discover what teams are expected to make it to the Super Bowl.

You can also learn about the top players in the league by checking ESPN’s NFL stats. With this information, you can begin to hunt for potentially popular products to source leading up to the Super Bowl.

In 2016, the National Retail Federation (NRF) estimated that 189 million people would be watching the Super Bowl. Among them, 11.1 percent were expected to “buy new team apparel and/or accessories,” adding up to roughly 20.9 million items. For third-party sellers, snagging just a small share of those Amazon Super Bowl sales would be huge.

Jersey sales of players on Super Bowl teams tend to spike in the weeks before the Super Bowl. Hats, t-shirts, and other team-branded products usually see a major boost in sales, too. And, on Super Bowl Sunday, these sales typically increase dramatically—especially after a winner is determined.

As expected, the winning team’s merchandise will likely sell best, as people will be jumping on the victory bandwagon.

Sports merchandise retailer Fanatics.com reported a 500-percent increase in Peyton Manning merch sales in the week after his Broncos clinched a spot in the Super Bowl. After his team won it and he retired several weeks later, sales of his apparel increased even more.

Clearly, learning just a little bit about football can pay off big for Amazon sellers.

Stock up on TVs at varying price points

Hundreds of millions of people are expected to watch the Super Bowl this year. And, whether it’s to catch cool commercials or to actually watch the game, they’ll likely watch on big-screen TVs.

That’s why smart sellers stock a variety of TVs at different price points leading up to Super Bowl Sunday.

As reported in TIME.com’s MONEY: “[a]s many as 8.6 million new televisions could be sold in the U.S by people upgrading in order to best enjoy the Super Bowl.”

And, in another article in TIME.com’s MONEY, the consensus is that before the Super Bowl “is a great time to snag” a new TV.

This is due to a combination of pre-Super Bowl retail mega-sales and new technologies driving down the prices of TVs. TV prices have steadily declined year-over-year as material and production costs have decreased. And, in the week before the Super Bowl, experts say that prices are 5-10 percent lower than they are in the three months before and after gameday.

In a CNBC article citing surveys by the Consumer Electronic Association, it’s reported that “almost a quarter of TV buyers get a new set specifically for the Super Bowl.”

These days, major pre-Super Bowl discounts are common on models with screen sizes upwards of 50-inches. That means people will be looking for deals. If you can find low-cost suppliers of TVs, you may be able to rack up record Amazon Super Bowl sales.

Source plenty of Super Bowl party supplies

Millions of parties will take place on Super Bowl Sunday, and that means party supplies will be in high demand. The following products—especially if they’re Super Bowl-themed—will add lots of profit potential to your inventory:

• paper plates
• plastic cups (and pint glasses)
• table covers
• napkins
• party decorations

Check out this list of the top 10 best-selling Super Bowl products from 2015 to get some more ideas.

Also, stay up to date on who will be performing during the Super Bowl halftime show. These artists typically see a bump in sales after their live televised performances, and you can source their products to capitalize.

Last year, Katy Perry and Missy Elliott performed and both experienced an increase in product sales afterward. Elliott, whom many viewers had never heard of until that performance, experienced an astronomical 996-percent increase in sales afterward.

For this year’s Super Bowl, Lady Gaga is slated to perform the halftime show. And, she just released her first album in three years, entitled Joanne. That means sales of her merchandise have the potential to skyrocket after her Super Bowl performance.

Amazon Super Bowl sales: The bottom line

As you can see, with a little research and planning, you too could experience stellar Amazon Super Bowl sales.

All you need to do is pay attention to who’s playing so you can source products related to those teams. And, stock up on TVs and party supplies for the millions of fans who’ll be hosting Super Bowl shindigs at their homes.

During a typically slow quarter, an Amazon Super Bowl sales strategy can make a massive impact on your Q1 sales.

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