Amazon Prime Day has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year, with discounts on millions of items. It’s no wonder that brands and retailers are competing to get a piece of this lucrative pie.
In order to keep up with the Prime Day competition and make sure their products don’t get lost in the shuffle, many companies have come up with creative ways to offer their own deals and promotions during this buying period.
What Is Amazon Prime Day & How Has It Impacted the Retail Space?
Amazon Prime Day is a sales event held each year where people can buy items from Amazon at great discounts. These deals are accessible to anyone but are often even better for existing Prime members. It began in 2015 and has grown every year since.
During this time, there are a great number of limited time only deals, so it’s important to act fast and get what you want before the deals are gone!
Amazon Prime Day has become a big event for shoppers all over the world. People not only save money by buying things on sale, but they also get to experience exclusive deals that aren’t available any other time of the year. This makes it even more exciting to shop on Prime Day since you never know what kind of amazing deals will be offered.
Since its debut, Amazon Prime Day has greatly impacted the retail sphere.
Before this first sale event was created, people had fewer options when shopping online as prices were usually higher than in stores or local markets. Now with Amazon Prime Day, customers can find great bargains without having to leave their homes or wait for other common sales events like Black Friday.
Another effect of Amazon Prime Day is that it creates competition among other retailers who want to take advantage of this one-day shopping opportunity. By offering similar sales and promotions during the same time frame, these companies can draw in more customers and increase their profits.
How Brands and Retailers Are Leveraging the Opportunity
Prime Day has quickly become one of the biggest shopping events of the year. Consequently, this presents a unique opportunity for brands and retailers to leverage the event to their advantage.
Brands and retailers have an opportunity to maximize their exposure on Amazon Prime Day through effective marketing campaigns. By offering exclusive discounts during Amazon Prime Day, they can stand out from the competition and incentivize customers to purchase from them.
Brands and retailers can also use the unofficial holiday as a launching pad for new products or services.
By offering discounted rates or special bundles during this time, it encourages customers to try out something new that they may not have considered before. In addition, due to increased competition from other sellers, promotional offers are even more valuable during Amazon Prime Day than most other days throughout the year.
In order to maximize their success, some brands and retailers set up well-planned marketing campaigns in advance of the event. This means creating compelling visuals and messages that highlight their best deals or discounts so that potential customers will be enticed into making a purchase. Strategic placement of advertisements across various platforms can help increase visibility leading up to the day itself.
On top of this, it’s important for brands and retailers to remember that they’re competing with a retail giant during Prime Day sales, so staying well-stocked is key in order satisfy high demand once the rush begins on the day itself.
Examples of Successful Campaigns From Previous Years
Competing retailers have successfully leveraged Prime Day as a way to drive sales and increase their customer base. Some examples include:
Walmart
One example of this was Walmart’s 2020 campaign, which offered discounts on select products from its website. Walmart promised customers that they would get the best prices “available anywhere” for those items, encouraging customers to shop with them instead of Amazon. Walmart also ran a series of contests and giveaways leading up to Prime Day, further incentivizing people to shop with them.
Best Buy
Another notable success story came from Best Buy in 2019. In addition to offering discounts on select items during their “Black Friday in July” sale, they announced a series of videos titled “Prime Time Showdown” that showcased competitive deals between Amazon and Best Buy. The campaign was successful at drumming up more attention than expected, with #PrimeTimeShowdown trending on Twitter during the event.
Target
Target has also gotten involved in the competition with Target Circle Week, which is a three-day sales event implemented in 2019 that occurs at the same time as Prime Day. The promotion includes discounts on thousands of items, including TVs, laptops and kitchen appliances. To further reach customers, Target uses ads across multiple media channels like TV spots, print ads, and billboards. They also employ influencer marketing tactics to spread awareness about their offers.
eBay
eBay runs an entire week of deals each year in July for Amazon Prime Day shoppers looking for great bargains on tech products like laptop computers and tablets, as well as home items like furniture and decor.
Wayfair
Wayfair, one of the leading online retailers in home furnishings, is hosting its own 72-hour sale to compete with Amazon Prime Day. To make this sale even more enticing, Wayfair is offering shoppers huge savings on top products in every category including furniture, home décor, and appliances. From July 15th-17th customers can take advantage of discounts up to 70 percent off across thousands of items, giving them the chance to spruce up their home for less.
What to Expect During Prime Day 2023
This Prime Day season, Wiser Solutions has gathered data on how brands and retailers who are competing against Amazon have stepped up to the plate.
Wiser collects category data for brands and retailers to monitor competitive price movements, product assortment, search performance, and content compliance. This time, we have focused on online pricing, presence, and promotion across multiple categories on the Amazon Marketplace in anticipation of Prime Day 2023.
Small Appliances
Within the Small Appliances category, Walmart leads with an impressive 27.86 percent average discount, closely followed by Best Buy, with Amazon offering the lowest of the three.
This means that despite the ongoing Amazon Prime Day event, shoppers are actually more likely to encounter a better deal when shopping at Walmart or Best Buy for their small appliances.
Home Appliances
Brands are also trying to leverage the Prime Day sales by offering discounted prices on their products across different retailers. According to our Wiser data, Kucht had the highest number of discounted offers followed by Newair, as compared to similar brands in the Home Appliance category.
From this data we can see that brands like Kucht and Newair are leading in home appliance discounts, with multiple retailers to choose from when purchasing.
For example, Kucht appliances are sold directly through their online storefront, via Amazon, and at select Lowe’s Home Improvement and Home Depot stores. There are different deals and discounts available at each of these locations, so it’s up to shoppers to choose the most advantageous option for them.
Check out more data from this Amazon Prime Day with this handy Wiser infographic.
Hi-Fi and MP3
According to Investopedia, most shoppers who tackle Prime Day are looking for electronics, with 59 percent saying they plan to buy a new device during the two-day sale. The most popular electronics purchase will be headphones, with 23 percent of shoppers planning to purchase.
Since this is such a popular category, it’s crucial that brands ensure they are well-stocked and able to meet consumer demand during this sales event.
Wiser data shows that Vivitar had the highest out of stock rate when compared to brands in the same category, while JVC had one of the lowest (1.5 percent), followed closely by Skullcandy (1.9 percent).
This data shows that shoppers who are hoping to purchase from Skullcandy and JVC are more likely to have an easier time finding their ideal merchandise when compared to brands like Vivitar or Targus who are experiencing much higher out of stock rates.
How Brands and Retailers Can Hope to Compete With Retail Giant Amazon
It’s clear that Amazon Prime Day is a major event for the retail and eCommerce industry. It provides an opportunity for brands and retailers to compete with one of the largest players in the market, but it also presents its own set of challenges.
To stand out from competitors on Prime Day, businesses must be strategic about their approach – leveraging data, understanding customer needs and preferences, offering discounts or promotions that are more attractive than those offered by Amazon, focusing on product quality over price point alone, and ensuring a seamless online shopping experience.
By taking these steps now to prepare for Prime Day 2023 (and beyond), companies can position themselves to make the most out of this crucial buying period.
