Amazon's SECOND Prime Day 2022: when it is, and what you can learn from the first one
This year’s Prime Day was the biggest ever, with 100,000 items sold per minute – but it’s not over yet.
We’re hearing that Amazon is planning a second Prime Day in the autumn.
It’s rumoured for October, in advance of Black Friday but still in the crucial fourth-quarter shopping period.
And the trends reported from Prime Day 2022 in July should give you some guidance to what’s going to sell well.
Prime Day: fall edition
Earlier in the summer Amazon asked Sellers in Seller Central to submit Lightning Deals for this second Prime Day.
Referred to by Amazon as the ‘Prime Fall deal event’, this second Prime-exclusive shopping day will help boost sales in a somewhat disappointing year for Amazon.
Its first-quarter growth was the slowest since 2001, as the eCommerce giant reported a $3.84bn loss. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy suggested that the pandemic and the war in Ukraine were factors contributing to the downturn.
But despite Amazon’s hard year, and despite concerns in the eCommerce sector that the event has had its day, Prime Day 2022 was the biggest yet.
With its boost to profits, and the attraction of new Prime subscribers, it’s easy to see why Amazon is keen to attempt a repeat.
Inflation-busters
In the USA Prime Day spending hit $11.9 billion, a year-on-year increase of 8.5%.
Interestingly, a high proportion of deals were for household items, a sign that rising prices in many countries are having an effect on Amazon consumer mindset: Numerator reported that 83% of consumers said inflation was impacting their purchase decisions.
The top categories shoppers bought in, according to a survey by Numerator, were household essentials (39% of respondents), health and beauty products (28%), consumer electronics (27%), apparel and shoes (25%), and home and garden supplies (22%).
The top sellers have always been Amazon devices, and this year was no exception, but everyday household items were much more popular than in the past.
Those smaller-ticket household items have much smaller margins, though, so even though it’s a record-breaking year for Prime Day, it could be bad news for Amazon’s profits.
Small businesses shine
Amazon says this year’s Prime Day was the biggest ever for the many SMEs using its platform, with roughly one-third of items bought from small businesses.
Amazon has recently been emphasising its role as a platform for small businesses – a savvy move, given how much shoppers love to buy from indie makers and family companies, which describes many of our clients.
Its Support Small Businesses to Win Big initiative allowed customers one sweepstake entry for every $1 they spent on small businesses, which led to $3bn in sales for small businesses.
Live success
Amazon Live streamers got over 100 million views over the two days of Prime Day, with thousands of streamers flaunting their wares over the two days.
We’re interested in Amazon Live because brands can use it to attract followers on Amazon. One of the criticisms of Amazon’s business model, including the almighty fight for the ever-mysterious Buy Box, is that it doesn’t allow small businesses the chance to build customer loyalty.
However, along with Amazon Brand Stores and Amazon Posts, Amazon Live gives brands free tools to build a following, making the platform more small-business-friendly.
There’s a clear message for brands like lots of our clients – SMEs growing through Amazon. Prime Day is worth being involved with, and it’s worth being aware of what Amazon offers to help you keep customers when you plan your campaign for the second Prime Day in the fall.
Get in touch with e-Comas today for help and advice with all things Amazon!