Amazon announced recently that its 2024 Prime Day event smashed previous sales records. While specific figures weren’t disclosed, Prime members enjoyed “millions of deals across over 35 categories” and purchased “more items than any prior Prime Day.” This highlights the event’s massive scale and member engagement.
Moreover, Amazon’s 2024 Prime Day event was a resounding success for independent sellers, primarily small and medium-sized businesses, who drove significant growth. They collectively sold over 200 million items during the 48-hour shopping extravaganza.
As the leader in North America’s online retail sector, Amazon continues to dominate the global marketplace. With projected 2024 web sales of $469.01 billion, the company solidifies its position as a retail powerhouse.
The event also marked a major milestone for Amazon’s new AI assistant, Rufus, which helped millions of customers in their shopping journey.
Prime Day 2024: Record-Breaking Online Spending
Prime Day 2024 fueled a surge in US online retail sales, with consumers spending a combined $14.2 billion across all retailers. This represents an 11% year-over-year increase and a new record for the shopping event.
Adobe Analytics, which tracked sales across 100 million SKUs and more than 1 trillion website visits, reported that consumers spent $7.2 billion on the first day and $7 billion on the second day. While the second day’s total was slightly lower, it still marked a 10.4% year-over-year growth.
These figures highlight the growing impact of Prime Day on the overall retail landscape and demonstrate consumers’ increasing reliance on online shopping.
Prime Day 2024: A Look At The Numbers
While Amazon remains tight-lipped about its exact Prime Day 2024 revenue, third-party data offers valuable insights into consumer spending patterns.
Numerator, a market research firm, analysed 93,513 orders from 35,588 households to uncover key trends. The average order value (during the 48-hour shopping event was $57.97, with shoppers demonstrating a strong appetite for multiple purchases. Over 60% of households placed at least two orders, driving the average household spend to approximately $152.
A closer look at spending reveals a significant portion of consumers were willing to splurge. Nearly a quarter of households dropped more than $200, while another 22% spent between $100 and $200. The average price per item was $28.06, with popular purchases including Amazon Fire TV Sticks, protein shakes, along with health and beauty products.
Over 88% of shoppers were Prime members. The event itself was a major draw, with 98% of shoppers aware of Prime Day before making purchases and over half saying it was primary shopping motivation. However, price comparison remained a key factor, with 54% of shoppers checking prices at other retailers.
Prime Day’s impact extended beyond Amazon. While 41% of consumers focused solely on Amazon’s deals, many also took advantage of other retailers’ promotions. Their competitors Walmart Deals and Target Circle Week attracted over 30% of shoppers.
While Amazon’s overall revenue remains a closely guarded secret, the data paints a picture of a highly engaged consumer base and robust spending during the event.
Prime Day 2024: Consumer Spending Across Key Categories
Electronics emerged as a standout performer, with overall sales surging 61% compared to average daily June figures. Tablets led the charge with a remarkable 117% increase, followed closely by televisions (111%), headphones and Bluetooth speakers (105%), and fitness trackers (88%). Computers, smartphones, and cameras also saw substantial growth.
The home category saw a huge boost, with small kitchen appliances claiming the top spot, and recording a 76% rise. Kitchenware, cookware, and mattresses also recorded double-digit growth. Home office furniture and bedroom furniture experienced more modest increases.
In the apparel sector, suits took the lead with a 36% surge, followed by outerwear, footwear, and accessories.
Prime Day 2024: The Buy Now, Pay Later Boom
Mobile shopping continued its upward trajectory during Prime Day 2024. Nearly half (49.2%) of online purchases on the second day were made through mobile devices, contributing to a total of $7 billion in mobile sales over the two-day event. This represents an 18.6% year-over-year increase.
Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) remained a popular payment option. It accounted for 7.6% of online orders, generating $1.08 billion in sales, a 16.4% increase compared to the previous year.
Retailers intensified discounts to compete with Amazon. Compared to 2023, average discounts across various categories surged:
- Electronics: 23% off (up from 14%)
- Apparel: 20% off (up from 12%)
- Home/furniture: 16% off (up from 9%)
- Televisions: 16% off (up from 5%)
- Toys: 15% off (up from 12%)
- Appliances: 14% off (up from 7%)
- Sporting goods: 11% off (up from 6%)
- Computers: 11% off (up from 8%)
While curbside pickup remained a popular option, its usage slightly declined to 18.9% of online orders compared to 20.2% in the previous year.
Prime Day 2024: Top Performing Verticals
Prime Day 2024 ignited online sales in North America, while global growth remained stagnant. Salesforce data revealed a 3% year-over-year increase in North American online sales during the event, with the US leading the charge. Canada, however, outperformed the US with an 8% growth rate.
Consumer focus on value drove sales, particularly in makeup, skincare, and apparel categories. Retailers capitalised on the trend, offering deeper discounts compared to the previous year. This strategic approach, mirroring Amazon's success, positioned them for a strong back-to-school season.
While Amazon’s Prime Day dominated the retail landscape, TikTok’s ‘Deal for You Days’ failed to generate similar results.
Amazon’s average discounts of 22% overshadowed TikTok’s 18%.
Salesforce’s analysis of key categories and their corresponding sales growth and discounts provides further insights into consumer spending patterns during Prime Day.
Top-performing verticals by sales growth
- Health & Beauty (16% increase). Makeup sales, specifically, grew 30%. Skin care sales grew 14%.
- Active Footwear (12%)
- General Footwear (12%)
Highest discounts globally by category
- General Apparel (average discount of 28%)
- Beauty & Makeup (26%; was 21% in 2023)
- Beauty & Skincare (22%)
- Home & Furniture (22%)
Global discounts grew 8% year over year during the full 48 hours of the Prime Day 2024 sales event, Salesforce said. The average discount rate across categories was 20%.
Highest discounts by category in the US
- General Apparel (average discount of 33%)
- Home & Furniture (21%)
- Health & Beauty (21%)
Discounts from U.S. online retailers grew 10% year over year during the same period, according to Salesforce. The average discount rate across categories was 22%. For online retailers in Canada, those figures are 11% and 27%, respectively.
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