October 17, 2022
Amazon.com held its second Prime Day event of the year last week, and as it turned out, the sales promotion may not have been the kickoff the retail and tech giant was hoping for.
The two-day Prime Early Access sale event, as the name suggests, focused on giving Amazon subscribers a jump start on buying Christmas gifts. The company’s top 100 deals list included its own devices as well as products from Apple, Bose, Casper, Drybar, Laneige and Shark.
“Our Early Access Prime Sale was a great start to the holidays, and the best part is that it’s only the beginning. Customers will find millions of must-have deals throughout the season to help them continue to save money on gifts for their loved ones,” said Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Stores, in a statement. statement. “We know that our employees, vendors and sales partners show incredible dedication to providing a great holiday experience, and we are grateful for their continued commitment to serving customers during this special time of year.”
Amazon, as it has in the past, touted the role the sale played in driving sales for its third-party marketplace sellers. The company said “more than 100 million items” were purchased from market vendors, though it did not release sales figures to quantify the impact the promotion had on revenue.
Analysts at Bank of America Estimate that the sale generated $8 billion in gross merchandise value, down from the $10.7 billion Amazon posted during July’s Prime Day event.
Numerator found that the value of the average basket was $46.68, down from $60.29 in July. He found that the top five items purchased were Amazon gift cards, Amazon photo projects, Mellisa & Doug toys, Simple Joys by Carter clothing, and third-generation Echo Dot devices.
The most frequently purchased categories were found to be household essentials (29 percent), health and beauty (27 percent), clothing and shoes (26 percent), toys and games (23 percent), and electronics. consumption (23 percent).
Fifteen percent said they bought higher-priced products that they would only buy during the sale. Twenty-three percent said they bought everyday items that they would normally have bought.
Twenty-nine percent in Numerator research took advantage of the sale to buy holiday gifts. Of those, 69 percent completed less than half of their Christmas shopping. Ninety-five percent said they would likely shop Amazon again for more holiday shopping.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: Do you see the results of Amazon’s Prime Early Access event as a benchmark for the company’s 2022 holiday season performance or for the larger retail industry? How is this event and others hosted by Target, Walmart and others likely to affect retailer prices and promotions after Halloween?
“This may be yet another example of how Amazon is screwing it up for everyone through hype.”
