This blog post was originally contributed by Jennifer Dunn, Head of Content at Book Outdoors.

Amazon Giveaways will soon dole out its last portable generator and chef’s knife. Recently, Amazon quietly added a statement to an internal page stating that “Amazon Giveaways is retiring and would like to thank all Hosts that contributed to awarding customers. The last day to create new giveaways is October 10th, 2019.” It appears that existing active giveaways will simply go the way of the dodo on their offer-specific expiration dates.

About Amazon Giveaways

The Giveaways program allowed marketplace sellers to offer products as freebies to lucky winners, often in exchange for watching a short video about the product.

Amazon incentivized sellers to participate in product giveaways by offering extra marketing support, such as higher search rankings and the chance to have products featured in Amazon emails. Sellers were encouraged to provide non-winners with a discount as a way to entice already-interested buyers to “Add to Cart.” While Amazon hasn’t officially announced the reason behind ending the program, we can assume from past history that Giveaways joins the long list of experimental programs that weren’t performing up to Amazon standards.

Par for the Amazon Course

Amazon has a storied history of sunsetting programs for sellers. Remember Amazon Webstore? If you don’t, that’s because four years is a lifetime in eCommerce. Amazon once provided a way for online sellers to set up storefronts through the platform and sell directly to customers, but they discontinued the program in 2015. Amazon Local, Amazon Auction, and a whole plethora of other seller-facing programs are now just blips on the company’s timeline, too. Even the long-lasting Dash program was retired earlier this year.

Jeff Bezos has famously maintained that Amazon is a company of “billions of dollars of failures.” You can see for yourself courtesy of Business Insider’s long list of discontinued Amazon programs.

What’s Next for Amazon Product Launches?

Anybody scanning through the Amazon Giveaways page with a practiced eye will suspect that many sellers used the program to launch new products. But Amazon famously no longer allows incentivized reviews and is now curtailing Giveaways. So, what’s a seller launching a new product to do?

Fortunately, Amazon still provides plenty of resources to jumpstart your product launch.

The Amazon Early Reviewer Program: We recommend your new product have at least a 3.5-star rating and 15 Verified Purchase reviews before putting significant dollars behind the launch. This may sound like a catch-22, but that’s where Amazon’s Early Reviewer Program comes in. For $60 per SKU, Amazon will offer a small incentive (usually $1-3 Amazon gift cards) for buyers who have already purchased your item to leave an honest review. This jumpstarts the review process, so you don’t find your promising new SKU languishing in the dreaded “no reviews” purgatory.

Amazon A+ Content: Formerly known as Enhanced Brand Content, A+ Content allows you to create detailed, attractive product pages, as well as showcase your entire brand in one place. It encourages you to tell your brand’s story by customizing your brand’s pages, adding more images and videos, and organizing your products in a way that invites buyers to keep browsing your store.

Amazon Launchpad: Amazon Launchpad works with sellers and partners like Shark Tank, Kickstarter, and Indiegogo to find and sell unique products. If one of your products meets Launchpad’s criteria, Amazon will provide additional marketing support, such as the Launch Marketing Package and the opportunity to submit your product to Amazon Deals. It also provides brands using Launchpad with additional education, playbooks, and access to the Amazon Brand Success team. 

Going Forward

By now, we all know that Amazon will continue to add and drop seller-facing programs. Here at Seller Labs, we’re committed to helping you navigate these program changes via information and powerful business tools. For more product launch resources, check out our product launch library, including:

• The Next-Level Amazon Product Launch Plan
• Amazon New Product Launch Checklist
• 4 Must-Do’s for Creating a Successful Amazon Product Launch [Tip Sheet]
• Amazon Product Launches: (5 Lessons Learned Sometimes the Hard Way)

What are your thoughts on the demise of Amazon Giveaways? Did you have a good (or bad) experience with the program? Did you even know it was available? Let us know in the comments.