Apparel and shoes were the big winner on Day One of Amazon‘s Prime Big Deal Days, ranking first at 26 percent according to shoppers who said they made purchases in the category. But apparel retailers hosting competing sales might be holding back on their best deals for later in the season.
Two categories—home goods and household essentials—tied for second place. Rounding out the top five for Amazon’s October Prime Days were toys and video games at 20 percent and beauty and cosmetics at 19 percent, according to data and tech firm Numerator. The results analyzed the first 30 hours of the market platform’s October sales event.
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But the average Prime Big Deal Days spend per order was $55.86, down from July’s Prime Day sale and up slightly from 2022’s October Prime Early Access sale. Nearly half of households at 46 percent already placed two or more orders, and just 6 percent placed five or more orders within the first 30 hours. The average household spend was about $108.86. While apparel and shoes were the top category, they weren’t among the best-selling items, based on units. Taking the lead there were Premier Protein Shakes, Amazon Basics Batteries and Amazon Fire TV Stick representing the top three spots.
Twenty-eight percent said they purchased holiday gifts during the sale, with 30 percent stating they completed at least half of their holiday gift shopping. Seven percent said they purchased other holiday products, such as Thanksgiving supplies and Christmas decorations and wrapping paper, with 6 percent indicating they bought Halloween costumes, decor and candy. And nearly half of shoppers, at 45 percent, said they bought items they had been waiting to buy on sale.
Fifty-seven percent of shoppers also said they were comparing prices, checking Amazon’s prices and then hitting the stores and websites of other retailers’ early holiday sale events to see what they were offering. Sixty-six percent checked out Walmart’s prices, 45 percent comparison shopped at Target, 24 percent eyed the membership club stores such as Costco and BJ’s, and 20 percent took a look at prices at department stores like Kohl’s and Macy’s.
Numerator said 74 percent of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers also shopped Amazon’s Prime Day event in July. Fifty-eight percent of shoppers surveyed also said they plan to shop on Black Friday, with the same percentage planning to shop on Cyber Monday as well. Twenty percent said they will shop in Thanksgiving, and 19 percent plan to shop on Small Business Saturday, the day after Black Friday.
Telsey Advisory Group’s (TAG) Joseph Feldman wrote in a research note Wednesday that Amazon’s Oct. 10-11 event “seemed to generate less buzz” than the event summer sale. And this year, traditional retailers “were ready and responded strongly” to the event, he noted. Most retailers have inventory ready for the holidays, and their individual sale events helped kickstart the holiday season. The Target Circle event launched on Oct. 1-7, while Walmart and Macy’s each held their own special fall/holiday promotions.
“The timing of the current event unofficially starts the holiday season, as most competitors run competing events to capture early spending,” he said, adding that the market platform “successfully leveraged” its relationship with several brands including Adidas, Peloton and Under Armour, all of which have seen softer trends because of the tougher retail environment.
“While Amazon executed well on this event, we believe the mixed consumer spending environment clouded the performance,” he said. “Consumers have been more selective with their spending, shopping closer to need, and focusing less on discretionary deals simply because they are available.” Feldman noted that fewer countries were included in Amazon’s October special, compared with the July event.
Feldman cited Numerator data showing that Amazon’s website traffic rose 16 percent in the first 13 hours of the event, versus the 25 percent average traffic increase in July.
And TAG’s proprietary data indicates that retailers in general had different ideas on how much to promote.
Of the 76 retailers tracked by TAG that held their own events, Feldman said that 17, or 22 percent, were more promotional than they were in July.
Apparel retailer promotions during the October Prime member event were “generally in line” with those during July’s event. Ralph Lauren was more promotional than in July, mostly due to the timing of its Friends & Family event offering 30 percent off styles online. VF’s Vans and Timberland promotional levels were comparable to July, but the The North Face increased its sales and offered 30 percent off of Thermoball products.
In the department store channel, JCPenney hosted its “Biggest Flash Sale” of the season from Oct. 9-11 in store and online, offering up to 50 percent off some styles plus another 35 percent discount. JC Penney’s July sale was online only. Kohl’s ran a “3-Day Deal Dash” over the same October timeframe, with customers receiving $10 off on a $50-or-higher purchase while also earnings Kohl’s Cash. They earned Kohl’s Cash on their purchases in July too, Feldman said, but apparel discounts this time weren’t as prevalent as in July.
Promotional levels at Macy’s were comparable in both events, but Nordstrom was “notably less promotional, as its Anniversary Sale occurred in July and early access for its credit card holders overlapped with Prime Day. And among the discounters, Big Lots introduced a new “Black Friday is Every Friday” event through Dec. 22, featuring select promotions. In hardlines, Tractor Supply ran steeper promotions, but on item such as grills and Halloween decor.
And in luxury and specialty retail, promotions during October Prime Days were generally lower or similar when compared with July discounts. Abercrombie & Fitch has a limited time sale offering up to 25 percent off select styles, versus 30 percent in July, but Hollister isn’t running a site-wide sale on top of its mid-season sale. American Eagle offered 25 percent off everything on Oct. 10, comparable to its July 10 sale day. And Guess, Gap, Old Navy and Victoria’s Secret offered limited time promotions in response to Prime Day, although the discounts appeared less than what they were in July. And shoe firms DSW and Famous Footwear were running two-day flash sales, offering 40 percent off and 20 percent off select styles, respectively.
