10 Things Amazon Sellers Need to Do Before Prime Day 2026

Prime Day 2026 is arriving a month earlier than usual, and if last year’s numbers are any indication, the sellers who prepare early are the ones who come out ahead. The 2025 event generated $24.1 billion in sales, moved 307 million items, and reached 63% of U.S. households. That kind of traffic only shows up for brands that did the work weeks ahead. 

Here are the 10 most important things to do before Prime Day 2026, pulled straight from Helium 10’s expert-curated strategy guide. 

1. Audit Your Inventory Before You Do Anything Else 

Start by looking at what you sold last Prime Day and how many days’ worth of stock moved in a single event, because that number tells you more than any projection will. If this is your first Prime Day, a general guideline is to have at least 4 to 5 days’ worth of inventory ready, though the right number depends on your pricing strategy and how aggressively you’re promoting. And don’t overlook your slow-moving products: Prime Day is one of the best times to discount and clear stock that’s been sitting, so you can free up cash tied up in products that aren’t pulling their weight. 

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2. Hit the May 27, 2026 Inventory Deadlines 

Most sellers find out too late that FBA receiving timelines don’t flex around Prime Day. Send your FBA inventory to Amazon by May 27 and build in at least 7 extra days beyond that to account for potential shipping or customs delays. For sellers with limited FBA storage, Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) is worth considering, since it lets you hold bulk inventory that auto-replenishes FBA without counting against your storage limits, and your listings stay buyable even if FBA stock runs out. 

Note: Shipments using Amazon-optimized splits have a deadline of June 5, 2026. 

3. Pick the 5 to 15 Keywords You Want to Own 

Prime Day’s traffic surge is large enough to move your organic rankings for weeks after the event, but only if you focus your effort on a specific set of targets rather than spreading thin across everything. Identify a shortlist of 5 to 15 high-value keywords: a mix of high-volume terms, competitive mid-tail phrases, and a few opportunities where you already have momentum, then build your entire Prime Day strategy around owning those positions. 

4. Make Sure Your Listing Is Built for Those Keywords 

Ad spend alone won’t rank you for keywords your listing isn’t indexed for, so your title, bullet points, images, and backend search terms all need to reflect the keywords you’re targeting before Prime Day traffic arrives. Use Helium 10’s index checking tool to confirm your products are indexed for the terms on your list, because even a well-written listing can have gaps that cost you visibility during the busiest days of the year. 

5. Get Your Listing Ready for Amazon’s AI Shopping Assistant, Rufus 

60% of Amazon shoppers now use Rufus to make buying decisions, and the only way it recommends your product to the right customers is if it understands what you sell. The best way to check is to test it yourself by asking Rufus questions about your product category and seeing what comes back, then updating your listing wherever the answers are vague or missing so Rufus has everything it needs to surface your brand to the right buyer. 

6. Pull Your Historical Keyword and PPC Data 

Everything else in your Prime Day prep gets sharper when you start here. Use Helium 10’s keyword ranking history to see where you and your competitors ranked for Prime Day keywords in past years, and look at which keywords converted best in your ad campaigns last year, not just which ones got clicks. The keywords that show up on both lists, high historical rank and strong conversion, belong at the top of your targeting list for 2026. 

7. Build Your Prime Day PPC Campaigns Now 

The week before Prime Day is historically one of the lowest-converting windows in the Amazon ad calendar, which means your campaign structure needs to be in place before that window opens, not during it. For top-performing products with deals, increase your budgets and push for top-of-search placements; for products without deals, consider pulling bids back to avoid overspending during a period where conversion rates typically drop. Sponsored Display retargeting campaigns are also worth setting up now so you capture buyers who viewed your listing during Prime Day but didn’t purchase right away, extending the event’s traffic well past the closing bell. If you have access to AMC Audiences, use them to target deal seekers and previous buyers specifically, since those are the two groups most likely to convert during a high-intent event. 

8. Run Defensive Ads on Your Own Products 

During Prime Day, shoppers browse heavily before they commit to a purchase, which means someone can land on your listing, see a sponsored ad for a competitor with a better deal, and leave without buying. Running Sponsored Display and Sponsored Products campaigns that target only your own ASINs keeps buyers inside your brand’s ecosystem and creates natural cross-sell opportunities across your full product line, so the traffic you’re paying to attract doesn’t quietly walk out the door. 

9. Enroll in Prime Exclusive Discounts and Prepare Your Deals 

Prime Exclusive Discount submissions open in May and close 6 hours before the event starts, so the window is short: products need a 4-star rating or higher to qualify, and if yours don’t make the cut, adding a coupon or a strikethrough price keeps them competitive in search results without the formal enrollment. It’s also worth thinking beyond Amazon itself: a discount code sent to your email list before the event, combined with influencer content on TikTok or Instagram, can send a meaningful stream of external buyers to your listings during Prime Day and earn you the Amazon Brand Referral Bonus when they convert. 

10. Don’t Ease Off the Week After Prime Day Ends 

The organic ranking gains you earn during Prime Day won’t hold themselves, and the biggest mistake sellers make is pulling back on ad spend the moment the event ends. Keeping your campaigns running on the exact keywords you pushed during Prime Day for at least a week afterward is usually the difference between a brand that locks in its new rank and one that slides back to where it started, so treat the week after as the final mile of the race, not the cooldown. 

What’s the Best Way to Prepare for Amazon Prime Day 2026? 

The best preparation combines three things: inventory in place before the May 27 deadline, a focused keyword strategy with your listing built around it, and a PPC plan that includes defensive campaigns, retargeting, and post-event follow-through. Sellers who address all three consistently outperform those who focus on only one. 

There’s a lot more detail behind each of these steps, including specific timelines, bid strategies, and listing tips from Amazon advertising experts Carrie Miller, Destaney Wishon, and Emma Schermer Tamir. 

Download the full Prime Day 2026 Checklist for free and get the complete step-by-step breakdown to carry into the event.