• by Nina Lentini , Staff Writer @Nina_Lentini, April 30, 2019

Vitamix, which sells blenders in the $400 - 600 range, banks on customer reviews of its Amazon presence. "Reviews are huge for us," said Joel Milani, the brand's copywriting manager. 

One strategy it uses is taking part in Amazon's Vine Program, in which a number of approved product reviewers receive a product ahead of launch so that reviews are posted immediately after. 

Another approach is working with the images that accompany the products on view on Amazon.com. The product is displayed on a white background and beyond that, a lot of information is incorporated based on search data, selling points, techniques, and applications.

"One of the most asked-about applications are baby foods, so we have a quadrant about baby food, another about butters, hot soup ... . It's a good way to add information to the product detail page, it goes above the fold, and we see an increase in consideration."

Vitamix sees great returns, he said, by amplifying promotions at the Mother's Day and winter holiday months, which are displayed on Amazon's Home Gift Guides pages.

Amazon, Milani said, also offers an email retargeting program, allowing the brand to send emails to customers to offer accessories and containers. After all, as he said, there are not a lot of repeat purchases, so the add-ins are important.

Although Vitamix tried out the Amazon Treasure Truck, which goes city to city selling different products, a $500 blender is not an impulse purchase, so it won't be going back.

In 2016, Vitamix jumped into Amazon search and display. The following year, it jumped aboard the Treasure Truck and increased spend in search and display. Last year, it raised its spend by 306%.

Amazon, Milani said, "is a massive channel for us. Costco was the previous 800-pound gorilla." But Costco has a finite membership size and most who were going to buy a Vitamix had bought one.

"This year, revenue between Costco and Amazon is pretty close, but Amazon will overtake it quickly," he predicted.