Another Amazon Prime Day has passed, bringing a revenue surge and new customers for retailers. This year’s Prime Day set records as 2023’s largest online spending day, and Amazon’s top sales day with shoppers saving over $2.5 billion. The success of this summer’s event prompted Amazon to announce plans for a fall edition of Prime Day, taking place this October.

This surge in online spending underscores the importance of discount events like Prime Day, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday. These events help retailers and advertisers reach new and price-conscious consumers in the competitive e-commerce market.

Key Takeaways From Prime Day 2023

WITHIN clients achieved their best Prime Day ever: sales rose by 200% WoW, impressions by 125%, clicks by 89%, and sales by 61% compared to Prime Day 2022, spanning the watches, pet food, and personal care industries. Driving these remarkable outcomes, WITHIN’s Retail Media Team uncovered these industry-agnostic insights:

• Focusing on non-branded campaigns proved effective in reaching a broader audience, increasing visibility, and lowering costs compared to branded campaigns.
• Manually adjusting bids on keywords helped avoid overspending and optimized campaign budgets based on real-time sales figures.
• Redirecting budget from branded to non-branded campaigns effectively captured deal-seeking customers with no specific brand loyalty.
• Lowering bids and budgets after Prime Day ensured efficient utilization of ad dollars.
• Implementing re-engaging and remarketing tactics after Prime Day capitalized on increased traffic for continued sales.

Looking Forward to Holiday 2023

While it may seem far off, if you haven’t started planning your holiday marketing strategies, you’re already behind. Luckily, there are some Prime Day influenced strategies that Amazon retailers and advertisers can repurpose for the upcoming holiday season: 

Prioritize Non-Branded Campaigns

Based on WITHIN’s Prime Day findings, prioritizing Non-Branded campaigns can be highly effective. By targeting a broader audience, including those new to your brand, you can make the most of your budget while boosting visibility. Plan to shift funds from Branded to Non-Branded campaigns for the holidays to smartly attract potential customers.

Have Processes and Programs in Place For Real Time Tracking

During high-traffic days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, real-time tracking is key. By making swift adjustments based on real-time results, you can avoid overspending and optimize your marketing budget effectively. 

Don’t Forget Post-Holiday Planning

Even with a reduced post-holiday budget, it’s essential to allocate enough funds for effective remarketing to the holiday-season audience. By determining this strategy beforehand, you can ensure that your ad dollars are utilized efficiently in the weeks following the holiday season.

Planning Your Holiday Strategy

Over the past three years, Prime Day sales growth mirrored holiday season e-commerce growth. This correlation emphasizes the importance of Prime Day trends for your holiday marketing strategies. Here are key observations from Prime Day to guide your holiday approach:

Trend #1: Four-in-five shoppers knew what they wanted to buy going into the sale, and half were specifically waiting for the sale to purchase certain products.

What does this mean for holiday? Customers plan purchases before the holidays. Educate them early on your products by highlighting unique features, benefits, and what sets you apart. This cements interest and secures your spot on their holiday shopping list. 

Trend #2: 54% of Prime Day shoppers compared prices at competitors like Walmart and Target before making their purchases. 

What does this mean for holiday? To distinguish yourself amongst competitors offering the same or lower prices, highlight your excellent customer service, shipping deals and speed, and flexible returns through reviews or traditional marketing tactics. This incentives customers amid competition.

Bonus Tip: Gradually increasing bids before major sales events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday can attract customers who typically add items to their carts in anticipation of upcoming deals. This approach can help effectively redirect these customers away from competitors.

Trend #3: 32% of shoppers shopped for the same items they typically buy on Amazon.

What does this mean for holiday? Customer’s previous purchase history provides valuable clues about their holiday shopping intentions. Utilizing these insights to personalize your marketing strategies can elevate conversion rates, enhance ROI, and amplify product recall.

This past Prime Day has reaffirmed its role as a pivotal event for retailers, advertisers, and consumers alike. For retailers and advertisers, it’s a vital chance to enhance sales, leverage heightened consumer engagement, and gather valuable marketing insights for the approaching holiday season. For consumers, Prime Day has become synonymous with significant savings — now across retailers — making it a highly anticipated shopping event.

For more on how WITHIN can help your brand grow on Amazon, contact us today and check out our Amazon Prime Day Prep Checklist to prepare for this fall’s event.