Amazon orders are down 25% - what do you do?

A 25% drop in Amazon orders requires a structured, data-driven approach.

1. Clarify the Scope: First, I'd ask for specifics: Is this drop across all categories, specific regions, or certain product lines? Is it a recent, sudden drop or a gradual decline? Are we comparing against last year, last quarter, or a forecast?

2. Hypothesize Broad Causes: Potential reasons could include:

   • External Factors: Economic downturn, increased competition, seasonal trends, major world events.
   • Internal Factors: Website issues (technical glitches, slow load times), pricing changes, marketing campaign failures, inventory problems, policy changes, negative PR.
   • Customer Behavior Shifts: Changing consumer preferences, increased adoption of competitor platforms.

3. Gather Data & Context: I would then dive into specific data points, looking at:

   • Time: When did the drop begin? Is it correlated with any specific events or time periods?
   • Region: Are certain geographic markets affected more than others?
   • Product/Category: Which product categories or specific items are seeing the biggest decline?
   • Platform: Is the drop on desktop, mobile app, or both?
   • Competition: What are competitors doing? Have they launched new products, aggressive promotions, or new features?
   • Cannibalization: Are we seeing a shift from one Amazon offering to another (e.g., Prime Video impacting physical media sales)?
   • Marketing & Traffic: Analyze traffic sources, conversion rates, ad spend, and campaign performance.
   • Customer Feedback: Review customer service logs, social media sentiment, and product reviews for recurring complaints.

4. Formulate & Test Theories: Based on the data, I'd develop specific hypotheses (e.g., "The drop is concentrated in electronics in the US, coinciding with a competitor's major sale") and then test them by looking for supporting or refuting evidence.

5. Propose Solutions: Once the root cause is identified, I'd propose targeted solutions. This could range from technical fixes, adjusting pricing or promotions, optimizing marketing spend, improving product selection, or addressing customer service issues.

6. Monitor & Iterate: Implement the solutions and continuously monitor key metrics to ensure the problem is resolved and to adapt strategies as needed.