Dim the lights, the results are in! Amazon’s annual Prime Day sales event was held from July 16 through July 17. The results show, among other things, an uptick in total money spent and a record set for the number of items purchased.
In terms of Brand Focus Digital, we are excited to announce that many of our clients enjoyed a robust increase in sales during Prime Day. For example, a leading North American coffee company increased its sales during Prime Day (as compared to a regular Amazon day) by 704%. Similarly, a large-scale specialty food company increased its sales by 407%.
Let’s take a closer look at some numbers and a few observations from the big event.
As reported by Bloomberg, this year’s Prime Day sales climbed 11%, as American shoppers reportedly spent 14.2 billion. Amazon also issued a recent news release saying that Prime Day had set a record for the total number of items purchased, but the company did not offer specific sales figures.
Interesting, is a comparison of Prime day results to Walmart+ Week, which is Walmart’s main sales event that lasted for a whole week in June. According to PYMNTS Intelligence’s data, twice as many consumers shopped on Amazon’s Prime Days than during Walmart+ Week. But indications do show that Walmart Week participation is catching up to Prime Day participation. According to analysts, for Walmart to catch up all the way, it will need to grow the Walmart+ subscriber base more than anything. Both Walmart+ Week and Amazon Prime Day reported a 50% participation rate from subscribers, but the lag in their number of subscribers impacted Walmart+ Week's sales.
Observers also found a key downside for Amazon that would have been a problem if the subscriber bases were the same size. Walmart+ Week shoppers, on average, spent more than Amazon Prime Day shoppers, primarily on groceries and high-ticket items.
In the wake of Prime Day (and Walmart+ Week and Target Circle Week), PYMNTS reported that consumers increasingly wait until sales events to make major purchases.
According to Katie Stratton, chief growth officer at Target-owned on-demand delivery aggregator Shipt: “In the past year, we’ve seen engagement in our promotions with higher-than-expected volume around popular seasonal moments.”
Further, according to Katie Kobus, vice president of marketing at Save A Lot, “Customers are shopping circulars to find the best deals, and … we’ve seen an uptick in the use of coupons.”
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BFD’s talent has decades of experience working at Amazon as well as other online retailers. In partnership, we deliver comprehensive solutions to maximize profits for your brands. Contact us now to get the help that truly makes a difference.