Three reasons Amazon Prime Big Deal Days bodes well for the holidays

The Amazon Prime Big Deal Days fall sales extravaganza sent some encouraging signals for the 2024 holiday shopping season.

Analysis is still coming in, but the Amazon Prime Big Deal Days 48-hour sales blockbuster (Oct. 8-9) appears to have been a rousing success. Amazon does not release specific sales figures for its promotional events, but the company said this was its biggest October shopping event ever, with more Prime members shopping compared to the 2023 edition with higher sales and more items sold during the two-day event than any previous October shopping event. 

[READ MORE: Amazon has biggest October sale ever; Holiday Beauty Haul up next]

Beyond this general strong performance, there are a few specific aspects of how Amazon Prime Big Deal Days unfolded that should put a seasonal glow in the hearts of retailers everywhere.

Holiday shopping hasn’t really started yet

Amazon promoted Prime Big Deal Days as the kickoff to its holiday discount season, and many of its top competitors, including Walmart and Target, ran competing October sales events that were also positioned as a chance to get a jump on holiday shopping.

However, only 24% of 5,000 Prime Big Deal Days shoppers surveyed by Numerator reported purchasing gifts for the holidays. Of those customers who did make holiday purchases, only 16% said they completed more than half (or all) of their holiday gift shopping with their purchases. Seven percent were still purchasing items for Halloween.

In more promising news for the e-tail giant which probably applies to retail in general, 86% of respondents said they will probably or definitely shop on Amazon again in the next three months for holiday items such as gifts, decorations and wrapping supplies.

A look at Numerator’s most-purchased Prime Big Deal Days items also bears out that it was not necessarily viewed as a holiday sale. Product categories that wouldn’t typically be given as holiday gifts, such as household essentials, home goods and health and wellness, dominated, with more traditional gift categories like toys and video games or consumer electronics did not crack the top five.

Customers are willing to shop around

As mentioned above, numerous other retailers sought to take advantage of the surge of deal-hungry shoppers going online earlier this week with sales blockbusters of their own. According to the classic Miracles song, mama told you that you better shop around, and Prime Big Deal Days customers listened to mama.

One-third of Numerator survey respondents said they had shopped or would shop Walmart Holiday Deals, and 31% said they had or would shop Target Circle Week. In addition, more than half (55%) of respondents compared Amazon’s prices to other retailers before making their Prime Big Deal Days purchases. 

Offer the deal, and they will come. This is good news because…

The best is yet to come

With most Prime Big Deal Days customers doing little if any holiday shopping and also showing a willingness to check out the discounts from other retailers, the industry as a whole is in shape for a good holiday season. 

There is still plenty of room for the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions (which in some cases will begin in the next few weeks) that lie ahead, as well as other holiday sales such as Amazon’s Holiday Beauty Haul which launches Oct. 21. 

If anything, the third annual Prime Big Deal Days is solidifying itself as a unique October sales event not heavily connected to customers shopping for the expanding Halloween season or December holiday season. And that’s good news not just for the holidays, but for the entire retail calendar.