Amazon Prime Day began in 2015 as an annual, one-day event that has since expanded to two consecutive days, with the most recent event taking place July 16-17. The July 2024 Prime Day event shattered its own record of past Prime Days in both dollar sales and number of items sold. Prime Day typically leads to increased eCommerce sales for other online retailers, alongside Amazon, in a phenomenon known as a ‘halo effect.’ In fact, July 16th was recorded as this year’s highest online sales day for all of eCommerce so far. As we dive into outcomes of this Prime Day, what can we anticipate from the upcoming October Prime Day, and how can your eCommerce brand prepare for it? We unpack the top eCommerce takeaways from Amazon Prime Day below. 

Outcomes from Amazon’s July 2024 Prime Day 

 First, let’s take a look at the data. Over the two-day period: 

• 93,513 total orders were placed by 35,588 households 
• 60% of shoppers made multiple purchases 

Popular items sold this year included the Amazon Fire TV Stick, Premier Protein shakes, Liquid IV packets, Glad trash bags, and COSRX snail mucin serum. Amazon also saw a surge in electronic sales, compared to average daily sales in June 2024, with: 

• TV purchases up 111% 
• Headphones and speakers up 105% 
• Fitness trackers up 88% 
• Computers up 80% 

Prime Day’s Impact on eCommerce 

Sales growth for online retailers in North America had been generally flat over the course of the year until Prime Day. As a whole, US online sales has grown 3% each year during the sales event, with Canadian online sales growing at a rate of 8% during the event. With consumers actively expecting savings from all eCommerce retailers during Prime Day, there are many ways for organizations to prepare for and capitalize on the upcoming fall Prime Day event. 

Considerations as You Prepare for the Next Prime Day 

1. Customer Support & Personalization 

In preparation for the next Prime Day, organizations can invest in optimizing customer support and improving the user experience, focusing on enhanced personalization. The week prior to July’s Prime Day event, Amazon rolled out its own chatbot, Rufus, to best support customers that were using the Amazon app to shop. Rufus offers a personalized and efficient support system to customers by answering prompts and questions about specific products or product types – such as “Is this coffee maker easy to clean?” – streamlining the user experience. By continuing to improve and personalize customer support through means such as AI to provide more catered and timely answers and suggestions to customer’s questions and needs, organizations can draw in both new and repeat customers. This allows them to capitalize on Prime Day’s ‘halo effect’ of increased consumer activity.  

2. Data-Driven Marketing & Advertising 

To further benefit from the Prime Day ‘halo effect,’ organizations can focus on data-driven marketing and omnichannel strategies to maximize their reach and drive sales. For instance, companies can utilize data and analytics to better target their advertising towards specific consumer groups. Emulating Amazon’s recent approach, organizations can also leverage interactive pause ads and shoppable carousel ads to engage customers and push immediate purchases. Additionally, leveraging cross-platform advertising, from email marketing to social media, can capture the attention of customers across multiple touchpoints. Integration of these strategies can enhance the organization’s visibility and boost sales during the Prime Day event.  

3. Mobile Optimization  

To fully capitalize on the Prime Day event this fall, organizations should prioritize mobile optimization, given the significant impact of mobile commerce on sales. During the recent Prime Day event, nearly half of the sales were driven through mobile devices, highlighting the key role that a seamless mobile experience plays. By ensuring that their mobile apps and websites are tailored to consumer needs, organizations can better capture a share of the Prime Day shopping surge.  

Going Forward  

Looking ahead to the upcoming Prime Day this October, organizations have a unique opportunity to build on the momentum created by the recent event. The success of July’s Prime Day underscores the importance of preparation and strategic planning for the next event, especially for organizations looking to benefit from Prime Day’s ‘halo effect.’ To fully capitalize on the ‘halo effect,’ organizations have multiple strategies they can implement, such as investing in more optimized and personalized customer support, leveraging data-driven marketing and advertising, and optimizing the mobile experience for customers. 

If your eCommerce organization is looking for support implementing new strategies or preparing for the shopping surge of future Prime Days, reach out to Clarkson’s experts today.