Why Your Shopify Strategy Is Killing Your Amazon Sales

Sean Stone reveals why successful Shopify strategies often destroy Amazon performance and how treating Amazon as a unique marketplace can transform your results. His agency works with million-dollar brands achieving 20% conversion rates on Amazon whilst Shopify sellers celebrate 3%.

We explore why Amazon shoppers behave completely differently from website visitors, how the platform's algorithm rewards different behaviours, and why your product bundling strategy needs a complete rethink. Sean shares his PAIR framework (Promotions, Advertising, Inventory, Rankability) and introduces his free Conversion Rate Benchmark Buddy tool that helps sellers identify which products can realistically rank on Amazon.

Key Point Timestamps:

04:26 - Why treating Amazon like Shopify kills performance

08:09 - The product strategy flip: smaller packs, lower prices

13:43 - Rankability: Sean's made-up word that works

18:00 - The free GPT tool for competitor analysis

23:32 - Click-through rate tactics that mirror YouTube

29:43 - The PAIR process framework

36:05 - When Amazon makes sense vs when it doesn't

49:57 - The BCIT framework for keyword domination

Why Treating Amazon Like Shopify Kills Performance (04:26)

Sean's core insight challenges how most eCommerce founders approach Amazon. "A lot of people try to treat Amazon like it's not its own unique channel," he explains. "You wouldn't do that if you started selling your products in Walmart, but why are you treating Amazon the way you're trying to treat Shopify?"

The fundamental difference lies in shopper behaviour. Shopify visitors have already chosen to engage with your brand specifically. Amazon shoppers are actively comparing you against every competitor in real-time, focusing purely on finding the best product at the best price with fastest delivery.

This creates completely different success metrics. Where a 3% conversion rate makes Shopify sellers celebrate, Sean would tell Amazon sellers with similar performance that "your product is broken, you should liquidate your inventory and get something new."

The Product Strategy Flip: Smaller Packs, Lower Prices (08:09)

The strategy that works brilliantly on Shopify - increasing average order value through larger bundles - becomes Amazon suicide. Sean explains the inverse approach needed:

"Instead of focusing on getting your CPA down to $20 a customer and selling an $80 product through a series of funnels... you end up trying to get your price point down to a place where you can sell a $14.99 product with a $3 cost per acquisition."

Using supplements as an example, where Shopify might sell 90-day supplies for $60, Amazon success comes from 30-day supplies at $20. Different pack sizes and price points deliver the same profit margins when accounting for volume and organic ranking benefits.

Rankability: The Made-Up Word That Works (13:43)

Sean's concept of "rankability" - a product's ability to reach the top five organic spots through a combination of PPC and deals - becomes central to Amazon success strategy.

"The big opportunity on Amazon is not just that you can sell a product and limit your ad spend and make a sale. The big opportunity is you can sell a huge quantity, get a ton of new customers who now know about your brand and get them through getting your product to show up at the top of the page without paying to be there."

The key lies in conversion rate advantages. When one client discovered they had double their competitors' conversion rates across multiple keywords, Sean's immediate response was: "You're going to need to triple your inventory order on this product today."

The PAIR Process Framework (29:43)

Sean's systematic approach breaks down as Promotions, Advertising, Inventory, and Rankability:

Promotions: Limited time deals running 14 out of every 28 days, creating continuous promotional momentum whilst staying within Amazon's rules.

Advertising: Focus on organic ranking growth rather than immediate ROAS. Spend money where you know you'll grow most organically.

Inventory: Never go out of stock. "On Amazon, you are going to be punished aggressively by the algorithm for going out of stock. It's better to turn off your ads while you're still in stock."

Rankability: Use conversion rate analysis to identify which products can realistically dominate their keywords.

The BCIT Framework for Keyword Domination (49:57)

Sean's closing framework provides tactical execution: Benchmark, Compare, Isolate, Track.

"Find your competitors conversion rate, then compare your conversion rate to competitors conversion rate. When you isolate each keyword where you have a conversion rate advantage, create exact match campaigns and spend like crazy on that keyword."

The isolation step proves crucial - instead of lumping keywords together, create individual campaigns for conversion advantages. Give each keyword its own budget and monitor organic ranking improvements as you spend.

Today's Guest

Today's guest: Sean Stone

Company: Stones Goods

Website: stonesgoods.com

LinkedIn: Connect with Sean on LinkedIn