Amazon Prime Day is just around the corner (it likely starts Monday, July 15th this year, but Amazon has not confirmed that yet and is being hush-hush on the final date), and lots of die-hard Amazon fans are looking forward to the big event.
And rightfully so! Prime Day is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year, and it’s grown reliably (and impressively) since its inception.
Whether you’re looking to pick up a paddleboard or a home speaker at a low price, or nab some smart ecommerce tactics for your online store, there are many great things to look forward to as Amazon Prime Day draws near.
The History of Amazon Prime Day
Prime Day started in July of 2015, on Amazon’s 20th birthday.
The day has been an all-out event since its inception. During the first Prime Day, Amazon offered hot deals for Prime members and provided a fun shopping alternative to Black Friday or Cyber Monday. It was also designed to drive hype around the Prime Service, increase memberships (there are now more than 100 million Prime members), and keep people engaged and looking for the hottest deals.
The shopping giant has also historically used Prime Day to announce new shows, products, and partnerships. This is especially true recently, as Amazon has acquired Whole Foods and launched services like Amazon Lockers. After Prime Day’s initial launch, Amazon found that customers placed 60% more orders worldwide on Prime Day than any other day, and the event became an immediate success.
This year, Prime Day makes its fourth appearance and is slated to take place on Monday, July 16. Contrary to what its name would suggest, Prime Day takes place over thirty-six hours, so it’s easy to take advantage of lots of great deals.
While there are many reasons for Amazon’s dominance of the ecommerce space, Prime Day is one of them. As it stands now, Amazon owns about 4% of all retail sales and grew by 50% in 2017. Today, the company is worth upwards of $550 billion.
Must-Know Amazon Prime Day Facts
So, Prime Day is popular, but just how popular? Here are a few facts about Amazon Prime Day to keep in mind:
- Prime Day is Expected to hit $3.4B in Sales This Year. This represents a massive rise from the estimated $2.4 billion generated by Prime Day last year, and may even be more conservative than what Prime Day will actually bring in.
- This is the First Year Prime Day Runs for 36 Hours. In years past, Prime Day has extended for only about 24 hours. Prime Day is also a week later than usual this year.
- Prime Day Offers Stunning Deals on Amazon Products. If you’re looking to buy a Fire tablet, a Kindle, or any of the Echo products, Prime Day is a great time to do it. Deals are projected to be hot, and it’s easy to save a bundle on these unique products.
- Prime Mobile App Sales Doubled in 2017. Before that, they doubled between 2015 and 2016, and experts are expecting that they’ll follow a similar trajectory in 2018.
- The Echo Dot was Amazon’s Best-Selling Prime Day Product in 2017. The company sold more than 7x as many dots in 2017 as it did in 2016.
- Amazon Averages Millions of Page Visits Each Prime Day. In 2017, the site saw 73.8 million visits on the first day of Prime Day, and 113.2 million on the second. That represents a 5% traffic increase from 2017.
- 53 Million Americans Purchased Something on Prime Day Last Year. This represents a 15% increase from 2016.
- Customers Shop Prices on Prime Day…and Still Come Back to Amazon. In 2017, experts found that Target, for example, had prices 75% higher than Amazon’s, while Walmart’s median prices were about 38% higher.
- Thousands of Retailers Take Advantage of Prime Day. In 2017, 47% of the 100 largest retailers in North America offered some kind of Prime Day deal. This is a great way to draw new traffic and take advantage of traffic that already exists.
- 78% of Consumers Shop Prime Day Deals at Their Desks. While this means billions in lost productivity for companies throughout the country, it’s great news for Amazon and other merchants who sell on the platform.
With these Amazon facts in mind, it’s easy to see that Amazon Prime Day is stronger now than ever before and that customers are still very enthusiastic about this exciting shopping day.
Facts About Amazon Prime Day Infographic
Prime Day is an exciting online shopping event, and it’s grown to be larger, more exciting, and more expansive than ever before. Is there something you’ve had your eye on for a few months? Prime Day is the time to grab it! Are you an ecommerce store owner?
Prime Day serves as just one example of how Amazon has made smart moves to become the ecommerce giant it is and offers a few slick tricks you can steal to adopt for your own company! For even more Amazon Prime Day facts, check out this infographic.
