Tons of coverage on Prime Day but thought I'd take a few minutes to highlight the true facts of the 3rd year of Prime Day:
1. Sales Did Not Exceed Black Friday or Cyber Monday, Sales Did Exceed Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday Sales - Estimated sales of $1 billion pales in comparison to Black Friday and Cyber Monday for all of retail.
Total Sales - Amazon's Prime Day vs All Retailers ($ Billions)
2. Prime Day Is Profitable - All of the deals except for Amazon product are paid for and marketed by brands and sellers. The 25% discount you see on a product is a markdown or discount paid for by the brand. Amazon is paying for the discounts on products like the Echo but all other products are 100% paid for by the brand or seller.
3. Prime Day is Part of the Fly Wheel - The $1 billion in sales is about 2.5x an average day but estimated to be 3-4x an average day in July. Therefore, it isn't a major driver for Amazon So why do it? Build excitement, sell more Prime memberships and offer one more benefit to the Prime ecosystem. Imagine Prime Day (or soon to become Prime week) in Whole Foods. Doorbusters in July?
One last thing...Amazon followed the lead of Alibaba's Singles Day, 11.11. The sheer scale of Singles Day compared to Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday is astounding: