Amazon’s fall sale pulled plenty of shoppers in, but most of them went for everyday basics rather than big-ticket gifts.
U.S. online retailers took in $9.86 billion during Prime Big Deal Days on Oct. 6–7, up 8.5% from $9.09 billion last year, according to Adobe Analytics. That figure covers spending across U.S. retail websites, not only Amazon, and came in just under Adobe’s pre-sale forecast of $9.9 billion.
Small Baskets, Lots of Orders
Purchase data from Numerator, which tracks household spending, shows a sale built on cheap, practical items:
- The average order was $48.74, and the average item cost $23.19.
- 68% of items cost less than $20. Only 2% cost more than $100.
- The average household spent $114.01, less than the $121.96 spent during Prime Day in June.
- Top categories were beauty, apparel, and health and wellness. Bestsellers included protein shakes, toilet paper, disinfecting wipes and dish spray.
Holiday Shopping Can Wait
Only 20% of Numerator’s shoppers bought holiday gifts, down from 23% last year, and 56% said they were still unsure what they wanted for the holidays. Shoppers also did their homework: 55% compared prices at other retailers before buying, most often at Walmart (66%), Target (40%) and warehouse clubs (27%).
Where the Sales Came From
- Phones: 52% of online sales, or $5.1 billion, up about 13%.
- Buy now, pay later: $692.3 million, about 6% of orders, up 4%.
- Social media: 7% of revenue, up 40%, the fastest-growing channel. Affiliates and partners drove 21.9%.
- Hot items: Compared with average September days, sales of headphones and speakers jumped 300% and Halloween costumes 610%.
What It Means for Small Sellers
Shoppers are spending, but they are hunting for value and comparing prices before they click “buy.” For small retailers heading into the holidays, that points to clear pricing, mobile-friendly checkout and showing up where the growth is: social media and partner links.
More on Contoh
- Prime Big Deal Days Is Here, and So Are the Amazon Scams. How to Shop Without Getting Hooked
- Holiday Shoppers Plan to Spend, but Half Expect to Borrow to Do It
- Forecasters See a Record Holiday Season, With Inflation Doing Some of the Lifting