{"id":1512401,"date":"2022-10-17T07:46:41","date_gmt":"2022-10-17T11:46:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/?p=1512401"},"modified":"2023-10-19T10:39:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T14:39:47","slug":"shoppers-buy-necessities-not-gifts-in-amazons-october-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.practicalecommerce.com\/shoppers-buy-necessities-not-gifts-in-amazons-october-event","title":{"rendered":"Shoppers Buy Necessities, Not Gifts, in Amazon’s October Event"},"content":{"rendered":"

For years November’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales signaled the kickoff to holiday shopping. Recently, however, merchants have offered discounts before then, diminishing the importance of the two biggest holiday shopping days. This year, Amazon started even earlier with its “Early Access” event for Prime members.<\/p>\n

Prime Early Access took place October 11 and 12 \u2014 48 hours \u2014 in the U.S., Canada, and 13 European countries. While the event lacked the hoopla surrounding July’s Prime Day, consumers took advantage of the discounts, focusing on household necessities rather than big-ticket items. Amazon said Prime members ordered more than 100 million items from merchants during the sale.<\/p>\n

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Amazon’s inaugural Prime Early Access occurred October 11-12 in the U.S., Canada, and 13 European countries.<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Results<\/h3>\n

The following numbers are from market research firm Numerator, which conducted over 3,500 buyer surveys during the Early Access sale.<\/p>\n

The average order size during the event was $46.68, down from $60.29 on Prime Day in July<\/a>. Fifty-six percent of households placed more than two orders, resulting in an average household expenditure of roughly $110.<\/p>\n

The top categories consumers said they purchased were household essentials, health and beauty items, clothing and shoes, and toys and games. Twenty-three percent bought everyday items. Only twenty-nine percent of shoppers surveyed said they purchased holiday gifts. American merchants that sold televisions, desktop computers, and other high-end items had disappointing sales.<\/p>\n