You’ve likely heard of Amazon Prime Day even if you’ve never bought something during the event. The Prime member-exclusive sale is famously one of the biggest shopping moments of the year, and despite it only being around for a decade, it’s become fully embedded in consumer culture, says Dr. Ross Steinman, a professor of consumer psychology at Widener University. Members wait all year for the event, which helped cement its place in the retail calendar among giants like Black Friday and Cyber Monday and established it as what Steinman calls “the pantheon of consumer holidays.”
Even while facing challenges like changes in shopping habits due to inflation, Amazon continues to scale Prime Day to record-breaking heights. Globally, the July 2023 sale brought in over $12.90 billion compared to less than $1 billion when it first began in 2015, according to estimates from Digital Commerce 360. The first day of last July’s event was also the single largest sales day ever in Amazon history, according to the retailer. Amazon expanded Prime Day’s reach even further by hosting another version of the sale in October 2023 — Prime Big Deal Day was the retailer’s way of kicking off the holiday shopping season.
Prime Day 2024 — and some of Amazon's best deals this year — is live now through July 17. To contextualize the event and its impact on e-commerce, I charted its history over the past decade and consulted experts about how it has grown since its inception.
SKIP AHEAD Prime Day 2023 results | Prime Big Deal Days 2023 results | What to expect during Prime Day 2024
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When is Prime Day 2024?
Prime Day 2024 is July 16 and 17. Amazon is hosting the 48-hour event in over 20 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S., and the UK.
How did Prime Day start?
The first-ever Prime Day took place on July 15, 2015, to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, according to Amazon. It lasted 24 hours and was available to members in nine countries: the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, Canada and Austria. Since 2015, Prime Day has expanded its reach — Amazon now hosts the sale in over 20 countries and extended it to be 48 hours long.
One of the factors that makes Prime Day so unique is that it’s a manufactured event Amazon created, unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, both of which are tied to the holiday shopping season. Prime Day (the first one, anyway) is traditionally held in mid-July, which is a strategic decision on the company’s part: The summer is a slower period for retailers, and Prime Day is an attempt to remedy that. “Prime Day provides Amazon with a jolt during an otherwise dormant shopping season,” says Steinman. Hosting Prime Day during the week is a strategic decision, too. Summer weekends are reserved for relaxing, sleeping in, leisure activities and traveling, but Amazon knows it can capture shoppers’ attention during the week.
By hosting Prime Day in July, Amazon altered the retail calendar and forced competitors like Walmart, Target, Macy’s and Best Buy to respond. Since the first Prime Day in 2015, many retailers have changed the timing of their sales or created new ones — like Walmart Plus Week and Target Circle Week — to align with the dates of Prime Day. Amazon’s competitors hope Prime Day shoppers will spill over onto their sites and make additional purchases.
Why does Amazon host Prime Day?
Amazon’s main goals for Prime Day are to attract new Prime subscribers and drive sales to its marketplace. Once Amazon gets shoppers in the door by offering them exclusive deals, the retailer can teach members about what experts call the retailer’s “ecosystem of consumption,” meaning its network of platforms like Prime Music, Amazon Fresh grocery delivery, Prime Video, Audible and Kindle Unlimited. Prime Day, then, is positioned as an entry point to a Prime membership. The sale allows the retailer to accrue an army of repeat shoppers who want to take advantage of everything the loyalty program offers them year-round, not just during one mega sale.
“The more Prime subscribers Amazon has, the more likely they are to make more of their purchases from Amazon,” says Steinman. “Amazon’s goal is to be sticky. Once you’re in its ecosystem, it’s difficult to leave.”
As for driving sales to Amazon’s marketplace, big and small brands offer some of the year’s lowest prices on tech, apparel, toys, beauty products, small kitchen appliances and more. But the brands Amazon owns, like Fire TVs and tablets, Kindle, Ring and AmazonBasics, tend to discount their products the most. Selling Amazon-owned devices is particularly lucrative for the retailer because they’re designed to increase your purchases on Amazon, says Steinman. Much of this tech is equipped with Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant who can notify you about deals and even make purchases if you give her permission.
There’s one more reason Prime Day is such an important event for the company: “It provides Amazon with an opportunity to do a test run and see if they need to work out any kinks as they get closer to the formal holiday shopping season,” says Steinma. Prime Day creates an artificial surge in orders, similar to what the retailer experiences between November and December.
What challenges is Amazon Prime Day currently facing?
One of Amazon’s biggest challenges is attracting new Prime subscribers each year. It’s hitting a saturation point, at least in the United States, says Steinman. In 2022, only 5% of Prime Day shoppers joined the retailer’s loyalty program on or shortly before the sale, while 78% were already Prime members, according to Digital Commerce 360. “This saturation point has led to an interesting crossroads for Amazon,” says Steinman. “The retailer now has to figure out, where do we go from here?”
Hosting a second Prime Day later in the year may be one way Amazon is trying to attract new Prime members and retain the ones they already have. It plays on shopper’s fear of missing out on a great deal by creating the idea that member-exclusive mega sales can take place at any point, says Steinman. However, a second Prime Day also takes away some of the novelty July’s mega sale became known for. “If consumers know another Prime Day is coming in October, they may say to themselves, “I’m going to spend my money on my vacation in July, and wait to shop Prime Day in October,” says Steinman.
Prime Day results from July 2023
Amazon has not disclosed sales from its July 2023 Prime Day, but Digital Commerce 360 estimates that the retailer hit $12.90 billion globally. This marks a 6.7% increase compared to 2022 sales and is in line with the more moderate year–over–year growth Amazon has recently seen: Digital Commerce 360 estimates that Amazon saw an 8.1% increase in sales between Prime Day 2021 and 2022 and a 7.1% increase in sales between Prime Day 2020 and 2021. The last time Amazon saw a double-digit jump in Prime Day sales year-over-year was between 2019 and 2020 — a 45.2% jump.
In 2022, inflation created a roadblock for Amazon during Prime Day. Some shoppers were spending less on wishlist items to afford necessities like groceries and gas — in fact, 40% of shoppers say inflation altered their shopping behavior during Prime Day 2022, according to Digital Commerce 360. Economic concerns may explain why Amazon has recently seen modest year-over-year revenue growth. And while the high levels of inflation we saw around Prime Day 2022 cooled off before the 2023 sale, cutting back on spending was still top of mind. On average, people planned to spend $250 while shopping Prime Day and other retailers’ simultaneous sales in July 2023, down from $388 in 2022 and from $594 in 2021, according to a survey by RetailMeNot.
Regardless of their economic situation, shoppers are hungry for sales now more than ever. “To some extent, being frugal is cool,” says Steinman. “People are much more price conscious than they have been in the past.” Because of this, shoppers are paying extra attention to the quality of sales during Prime Day. They expect deep discounts, not 15% or 20% off, says James Risley, a research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360.
Results from Amazon’s October 2023 Prime Big Deal Days
For the first time in 2022, Amazon hosted Prime Day-level events twice in one year: Prime Day, the retailer’s highly-anticipated annual summer sale, took place in July, and the Prime Early Access Sale happened three months later in October. In 2023, Amazon followed a similar schedule. Prime Day took place on July 11 and 12, and three months later, the retailer hosted Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 10 and 11. Amazon has yet to announce if it’s hosting a second Prime Day-level event in 2024 — right now, only July’s event is guaranteed.
Experts say Amazon’s attempt to kick off the holiday shopping season is to host a second Prime Day in October. Early Black Friday promotions from other retailers have recently crept into October, giving shoppers extra time to buy gifts. Amazon noticed this trend and responded with a sale of its own.
Amazon did not disclose sales from its October 2023 sale. However, in a press release, the retailer shared that Prime Big Deal Days outpaced 2022’s Prime Early Access Sale. However, Prime Big Deal Days discounts were generally lackluster compared to Prime Day, says Risley. People also didn’t feel the same level of pressure to shop as they did during Prime Day. The summer isn’t filled with opportunities to take advantage of sales, which works in Prime Day’s favor. But shoppers know that Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals start as early as October across dozens of brands and retailers, so they didn’t approach Prime Big Deal Days with urgency, says Risley.
In October 2023, Amazon nixed “Prime Early Access Sale” and renamed its October Prime Day “Prime Big Deal Days.” Steinman suspects this is due to the types of items the event was centered around. “From a consumer lens, this is the unofficial start to the holiday season, so we’re thinking about giftable products. A lot of shoppers want to give electronics, handheld technology, fitness equipment and kitchen gadgets,” he says. “The “big deals” name is reflective of the larger purchase price of the products.”
What to expect during Prime Day 2024
Prime Day is coming up on July 16 and 17, and it marks Amazon’s tenth year hosting the mega sale. At this point, shoppers know what to expect: 48 hours of exclusive deals and some of the lowest prices all year on Amazon-branded devices, small kitchen appliances, household essentials, luxury beauty products and more. Because of this, Steinman says Prime Day feels familiar to consumers. “A decade in, Prime Day is like a movie you’ve watched a million times. You know the arc, and the plot, and the ending, but you still sit down to watch it to the end. There are no surprises, which offers comfort for Prime subscribers,” he says.
After years of inflation caused consumers to be extra cautious with their money, average spending estimates for Prime Day 2024 are positive. According to a RetailMeNot survey, shoppers plan to spend $300 at Amazon during Prime Day 2024, up from $150 in 2023. With that being said, customers are still watching their spending, but they’re not depriving themselves. “They’ll spend money on their wants, but they’re going to shop around and make sure they’re getting a good price instead of being an impulsive consumer,” says Steinman.
Like in years past, Walmart, Target and other retailers are hosting their big summer sales around the time of Prime Day. For example, the Walmart DeaIs event is July 8 to 11 and Target Circle Week is July 7 to 13. In response, some shoppers are diversifying their purchases across retailers. But for the most part, Prime subscribers are loyal to Amazon. They get free, fast shipping, their payment information and address is stored in their account, and the retailer has a generous return policy — Amazon makes the shopping experience convenient from start to finish, which keeps customers coming back, says Steinman.
What are the best products to buy during Prime Day?
Steinman says there’s an inaccurate stereotype about shoppers during large sale events like Prime Day. “The perception is that somebody’s going to get swept up in excitement and engage in a number of impulse purchases,” he says. But by and large, that’s not what happens on Prime Day.”
For the most part, Prime members are savvy shoppers, and many compare prices across retailers to determine whether a deal is worth taking advantage of. Some use Prime Day to stock up on household basics and pantry staples, but that’s not to say shoppers ignore deals on luxury or big-ticket items. Generally, however, Prime Day shoppers are conscious about using Amazon’s sale to their advantage and spending strategically, says Steinman.
In July 2023, bestselling Prime Day products included the Fire TV Stick, Apple AirPods, Laneige Lip Glowy Balm and Bissell Little Green Portable Deep Cleaner, according to Amazon. Something these items have in common is that they’re typically personal purchases, which means people are shopping for themselves, says Risely. Unlike Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which is around the time holiday shopping begins, Prime Day is in the middle of summer, so members use it as a chance to buy items they want, not as gifts, says Risely.
Shoppers don’t know exactly what Amazon is discounting on Prime Day until the sale starts, which is part of the event’s allure. Bestselling Prime Day products vary from year to year and from country to country, which isn’t just the result of different buying habits — Amazon’s Prime Day offerings in one country aren’t always reflective of another. But factors like a deal being well-advertised or well-priced can contribute to it becoming a bestseller, as can Amazon’s agenda of selling as many of its devices as possible. Brands also use Prime Day to discount soon-to-be out-of-season, out-of-style or expired merchandise.
Some of the best Prime Day discounts are Amazon’s Lightning Deals, flash sales that give shoppers a short window to purchase limited quantities of specific products. Lightning Deals put shoppers in a competitive mindset and add what Steinman calls a “gamification” aspect to Prime Day. Shoppers don’t have time to think about whether they need the item being sold as a Lightning Deal, so they impulsively buy it because they don’t want to miss out.
Amazon also introduced an invite-only deals program in 2023. Prime members can request an invitation to select deals that are expected to sell out and Amazon notifies them via email if they’re selected to shop. The invite-only deals program adds another level of exclusivity to Prime Day. It also gives Amazon a picture of what types of products people are interested in and what discount levels they tend to gravitate toward before the sale even begins, experts say.
Meet our experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Ross Steinman is a professor of consumer psychology at Widener University.
- James Risley is a research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360.
Why trust NBC Select?
I’m an associate updates editor at NBC Select and have been reporting about Amazon Prime Day for five years. I wrote NBC Select’s Prime membership guide and Amazon Prime Day history, as well as cover deals during Amazon sale events. For this piece, I interviewed two experts about Amazon Prime Day and its impact on the retail industry.
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