• Prime Day at Amazon on July 12th and 13th
• Shopping event takes place for the first time in times of high inflation
• Experts: The focus tends to be on everyday goods rather than entertainment
Prime Day, a two-day shopping event for Amazon customers with a Prime membership, has been a sales guarantee for the online retailer in recent years. The discount battle will take place again this year, the date has been set for July 12th and 13th. However, this time the ongoing pandemic, the Ukraine war, strained supply chains and high inflation are casting their shadows on the event. Above all, the inflation rate, which rose to the highest level in more than 40 years in the USA at 8.6 percent in May, is likely to influence the buying behavior of customers – but according to experts also the type of bargains Amazon will probably offer.
Consumers take a closer look at their money
As “GoBankingRates” reports, citing a survey by JungleScout, 38 percent of the US consumers surveyed stated that they would generally spend less money in 2022. 72 percent of them cited high inflation as the reason for this. The ongoing escalation in commodity prices will further drive customers to look for ways to reduce their spending, wrote NielsenIQ, a big data company dedicated to mapping consumer behavior, according to the blog nkmsm.com ” in June in a report on global online shopping events. Accordingly, consumers are likely to make fewer impulse purchases this year as part of Prime Day and instead think carefully about what they are buying and what not.
However, they will probably not hold back completely on Prime Day. According to BlackFriday.com, nkmsm.com found that 65 percent of American consumers have a Prime membership, and 88 percent of those members want to buy something on Prime Day. However, they would plan for an average of only 233 US dollars – and thus 93 US dollars less than in the previous year. Overall, according to analysts at US investment bank Jefferies, Prime Day is likely to contribute $8.1 billion to gross merchandise volume this year, which “matches last year’s summer events,” as CNBC quoted the experts as saying. A growth in sales compared to the previous year’s event is therefore not to be expected – which also corresponds to the general business development at Amazon. When the latest quarterly figures were presented in April, Amazon already had to report the weakest sales growth in two decades – and in the meantime the economic headwind has only increased.
New product groups come into focus on Prime Day – even bigger discounts possible?
High inflation is also likely to change the type of bargains customers seek on Prime Day this year – and that Amazon will offer. “People who want to attend Prime Day will focus more on practical purchases than fun things,” Julie Ramhold, a consumer analyst at DealNews.com, told CNBC. On the other hand, there are likely to be more offers for basic consumer goods this year. “Amazon is keen to prove the value of the Prime subscription, so I think we’re going to see some really good deals on essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, toothpaste, deodorant and laundry detergent,” said Casey Runyan of online discount marketplace Brad’s Deals according to the news site.
According to GoBankingRates, another side effect of the fact that Prime Day is taking place for the first time in a period with an inflation rate of more than eight percent could also be that retailers will offer even larger discounts so that they can sell their products at all . “For sellers, it could mean offering even bigger deals, discounts and promotions to attract unenthusiastic consumers,” the website said.
Amazon will probably follow up with a second Prime Day
Amazon also seems to be feeling that consumers will hold back on the upcoming Prime Day due to the general economic conditions – and is apparently planning a second Prime Day in the fourth quarter. “The Prime Fall Deal event is a Prime-exclusive shopping event in the fourth quarter,” quoted “CNBC” from an Amazon email to selected third-party retailers asking them to submit bids. Amazon may be hoping that customers’ desire to shop online will have improved again by autumn – or by combining the events it wants to bring Prime Day a little closer to its former status as a major source of sales.
Editorial office finanzen.net
Leverage must be between 2 and 20
No data
More news about Amazon
Image sources: Gil C / Shutterstock.com, Twin Design / Shutterstock.com