Amazon has announced the dates of its annual member sales bonanza, Prime Day, which this year will kick off at 3 a.m. EDT on July 11 and run through July 12.
As always, Amazon is touting the vast slate of deals that will be available to Prime members on both Amazon products and other brands, including Lancôme, Peloton, Sony and Victoria’s Secret (which recently expanded its Amazon assortment), among many others. Amazon also said that Prime members in the U.S. will have access to more deals from small businesses than ever before, continuing a push that began with last year’s Prime Day and has continued since as the company looks to boost its profile as an enabler of American SMBs.
2023 Prime Day Sales Expected to Top Previous Years
Rising inflation last year had a less-than-expected impact on Prime Day 2022 — sales rose 8.5% from 2021 to approximately $11.9 billion — and predictions for this year’s event follow a similar trajectory despite a still-challenged economic environment. Prime Day 2023 is widely expected to make sales gains on 2022, and indeed, research from RetailMeNot indicates that the event has overtaken Labor Day as the primary summer retail sale for U.S. consumers.
RetailMeNot’s survey of 1,000 U.S. adults found that 96% of Prime members have shopped Prime Day in the past or are interested in doing so this year. However, planned spending among those consumers is down slightly from 2022, with the average Prime Day shopper planning to spend $250 this year (both at Amazon and other retailers’ simultaneous sales events), down from $388 in 2022 and from $594 in 2021.
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“After a year of contending with inflation, shoppers plan to tighten their Prime Day budgets this year — for the second year in a row,” said Kristin McGrath, Editor of The Real Deal by RetailMeNot in a blog post. “That said, planned spending is different from the actual spending that happens when deals start flying. Prime Day has been growing in terms of dollars spent every year since its inception, including last year, when consumers also told us they planned to dial their spending back.”
The survey also found that, like last year, clothing and electronics will dominate Prime Day shopping carts this year, with 59% of those surveyed planning to buy electronics and 49% planning to purchase clothing, shoes or apparel. Beauty and skincare, as well as bedding, linen and towels also ranked as top categories, both at 24%.
What Will be Different for Prime Day 2023?
As in previous years, Amazon isn’t waiting for the clock to strike 3 a.m. on July 11 to get the deals started; it’s already offering early deals to Prime members.
Amazon does have a few new tricks up its sleeves this year though, including:
- Invite-only deals: The new program lets Prime members request an invitation to some of the best Prime Day deals that are expected to sell out — including 75% off the Amazon Fire TV 43” Omni Series and 60% off the Bulova Men’s Marine Star Chronograph. Members who are selected will be notified during Prime Day with instructions on how to purchase the item at the exclusive deal price.
- Deals on non-Amazon sites: This is an extension of its new Buy with Prime offering, which lets Amazon sellers offer the benefits of Prime fulfillment to shoppers on their own websites. From June 21 through Prime Day, U.S. Prime members will be able to shop early deals directly with brands that use Buy with Prime.
