Do Consumers Still Care About Amazon Prime Day?

The short answer is “yes.” And so do other retailers, who either take the Amazon Prime Day concept and make it their own or jump into the deal competition with brand-centric specials and massive ad spends

Megan Thee Stallion is clearly into Amazon Prime Day. She’s this year’s spokesperson, hyping all the deals that will be available on July 16th and 17th. Amazon upped ad spending by 25 percent to a whopping $40 million. The event even has its own song featuring the hip-hop star.

But will that translate into increased consumer spending? What will they buy? Equally important, how will other MULO (multi-location) retailers respond to the annual event, using marketing automation and AI to feed deals to the masses?

Gil Sadeh, Chief Growth Officer at Skai, an omnichannel advertising platform focused on retail media, weighed in with his perspectives and predictions about Amazon Prime Day.

In what ways will Prime Day 2024 be different from past Prime Days?

“We’ll likely see a lot of similarities between Prime Day 2024 and the event in prior years. Consumers go in looking for deals on big-ticket items, usually with a list in mind of what they’re looking for, but are often also inspired to make impulse purchases. An exclusive Skai survey found that 62% of consumers research deals ahead of the event, and 48% will wait for specific deals. Also, unsurprisingly, household and consumer electronics will be the hottest categories for shopping as they have in years past.”

Are consumers getting tired of these special days? Do they still believe this is the time to get the best deals?

“Consumers are not getting tired of these special days – as proven by Skai’s data showing that 75% of US consumers plan to spend the same or even more this year as they did during Prime Day 2023. With a retailer like Amazon, there’s a lot of opportunity for consumers to find almost anything they’re looking for, from household items to beauty to fashion to electronics and beyond.”

What are smart marketers doing to compete with Amazon during those days?

“For brands selling on Amazon, a strong approach is to put top-selling products on sale, backed by strong promotional messaging. It is also a great opportunity to raise visibility for slower-moving lines or to make other strategic product choices. Consider promoting less expensive items that showcase the brand and serve as a sample to buyers. Because even if margins aren’t large enough to make a profit, these audiences can be used for remarketing in the future for more expensive items.

Because the buzz around Prime Day has primed (no pun intended) consumers to expect savings at this time of year, we often see other retailers hosting and marketing their own sales events each year. In 2024, for example, Walmart Deal Days run from July 8-11, while Target Circle Week runs July 7-13. It’s no coincidence that both are before Prime Day begins. In addition, DTC (direct-to-consumer) brands are also pushing sales on their products to take advantage of consumer interest at this time.”

Has AI impacted Prime Day marketing? How?

“Depending on the advertiser and their partners and vendors, AI-powered tools can be used in a variety of ways for Prime Day, just as they are throughout the year. For example, Skai’s AI Dayparting capability leverages hourly insights about ad campaigns from Amazon Marketing Stream to produce AI-generated recommendations about when marketers should run ads throughout the day. This ensures that they’re directing their budgets to the times with the highest conversion, which is especially important for quick-turn lightning deals that occur during Prime Day.”

What are your predictions around what people will buy during those days?

“According to Skai’s exclusive survey of consumers, the top items people are buying during Prime Day are big-ticket electronics, followed by household products, fashion & apparel, and beauty & personal care items.”

Thank you, Skai, for your perspective! We’ll report on the aftermath of Amazon Prime Day and other MULO (multi-location) retailers’ results.

However, one purchase our readers should definitely consider this year is a ticket to Street Fight LIVE 2024. Use Promo Code : PRIMEDAY , to “fill your cart” with insights about the multi-location ecosystem!