David Parrish has always been a problem solver and builder, using his mind and his hands to develop solutions. The self-described “professional Jack of all trades” has leveraged those traits throughout his storied career, but especially in 2014 when he invented the Slow ‘N Sear grill insert—an idea that would eventually fuel a multimillion-dollar business.
SnS Grills started selling on its ecommerce site and through other online retailers, but eventually, in 2022, “we went all in on Amazon,” says Chris Spain, Commercial Leader for SnS Grills. “Building out our catalog on Amazon has elevated every aspect of consumer discoverability and audience share. We started migrating everything to Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and the rewards of doing so have been plentiful since.”
Then in 2023, the team heard about a new way for Prime members to shop directly on ecommerce sites. SnS Grills launched Buy with Prime in the spring, and they haven’t looked back. “We’ve turned on almost everything that we can possibly turn on for Buy with Prime,” David says. “We’ve activated 17 SKUs, we added a banner on our website and built a Buy with Prime collections page, we use Reviews from Amazon on our product pages, and we’re running Buy with Prime promotions. It’s been a very good experience.”
Since activating Buy with Prime, an average of 50% of site orders have been placed using Buy with Prime, including a whopping 88% in July alone with help from a Buy with Prime promotional campaign for Prime Day. Although the team is still collecting and evaluating data about the effectiveness of Buy with Prime, Chris is confident that conversions have exceeded what SnSGrills.com was previously seeing. What’s more, 2023 is already shaping up to be the brand’s “best year ever,” with revenue month-to-date tracking ahead of 2022 and a forecast revenue increase of more than 20% in 2023 attributable to Buy with Prime.
Keeping up with fulfillment
Before adding Buy with Prime, and even before listing its products on Amazon, SnS Grills was shipping every order from its warehouse near Charlotte, North Carolina. “There were considerable shipping costs to get our products to customers throughout the country,” David admits. “So we realized that we really need to start fulfilling orders closer to where they originate.” Using FBA and Buy with Prime, as well as Amazon Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) for SnS Grills’ other ecommerce channels, has made that possible.
“Anyone with a small company trying to go from one warehouse to two—and then eventually to 30 or 40—knows that’s not easy,” he explains. “Using Amazon’s fulfillment services across our ecommerce channels is allowing us to scale from where we were to where we want to go. It’s been great for our growth.”
All SnS Grills’ ecommerce orders are fulfilled from one pool of inventory across Amazon’s vast fulfillment network. Amazon handles the storage, picking, packing, and shipping for the orders, leaving the team with more time to focus on growing the business. Says Chris, “We’re shipping everything to Amazon and letting them take over.”
For SnS Grills’ customers, they get the fast, reliable shipping that they expect. And Prime members in particular get their orders shipped free, and as fast as one day on Amazon.com, or when they check out using Buy with Prime directly on the brand’s site.
Signals of trust
When it came time to actually implement Buy with Prime onto the company’s Shopify store, Chris was able to do it in just a few steps without needing a technical background. He says setting it up was “very easy” but makes sure to give plenty kudos to the Buy with Prime onboarding team. He used the customization feature to adjust the button size and shape so it fit the brand’s product page style.
Shopper awareness, however, has taken a bit more effort, he says. “It’s so new, so it’s still a bit foreign to shoppers when they’re in our online store but see Buy with Prime. Everyone is familiar with Amazon and Prime, but seeing Buy with Prime in messaging from our business isn’t something our customers are familiar with yet.” To help educate shoppers about the Buy with Prime checkout experience and spotlight eligible products, the team added a Buy with Prime collection page on the website, with a shortcut in the global top navigation.
Despite it being a new experience that shoppers are slowly learning about, Chris believes the brand recognition and trust of Prime have contributed to the site’s high share of Buy with Prime orders and to increased conversions.
“No matter the history or longevity of your store, no matter the reviews or established trust of your store, if someone sees Buy with Prime and the option to check out using their Amazon account, it gives them an elevated sense of trust,” Chris says. “Seeing the Prime logo there helps them feel confident in the site and that the order will go through. I believe that having the Prime branding on our site has helped conversions in a positive way.”
For SnS Grills, the greater shopper trust and increased conversions have had a flow-on effect on company revenue. Says David, “This year, we’re projected to reach $5 million in revenue without Buy with Prime. Adding in sales through Buy with Prime to the total, we’re looking at more than $6 million in revenue.”
A bright future
Although it’s still early days for their journey with Buy with Prime, the SnS Grills team is happy with the experience so far. They look forward to continued innovation that helps them build out a checkout experience that’s as robust as their site’s standard cart while offering a Prime shopping experience. SnS Grills is one of many merchants excited about the recently launched Buy with Prime cart, making it possible for Prime members to add multiple Buy with Prime-eligible products to their cart and continue browsing. Given the extensive collection of grilling accessories on the company’s Buy with Prime collection page, implementing the cart will let shoppers create a complete grill master setup in one transaction.
Enhancements like these to the Buy with Prime shopping experience help Chris and David feel even more confident about SnS Grills’ future. In fact, “Buy with Prime is working so well for us that we’ve actually talked about turning off our standard cart,” David says.
Adds Chris, “My summation is simple: Buy with Prime works. It’s going to continue to work and grow and become a very instrumental tool for merchants, and those who adopt it will see the rewards in doing so—quickly.”