Amazon has announced the “Prime Early Access Sale”, taking place on October 11-12, 2022.
Amazon has already hosted their Prime Day 2022 event in July, and the company began contacting sellers about the second sales event for October back in June, which many sellers were calling “Prime Day 2.0“. This second sales event in October is expected to have similar Prime Day-like deals, though Amazon is technically referring to it as separate sales event and not a second Prime Day.
Amazon states that “Prime Early Access Sale gives members a chance to kick off the holiday shopping season early with hundreds of thousands of deals. As part of the new deals event, Amazon is introducing a Top 100 list of some of the season’s most popular and gift-able items. New deals from the list will drop throughout the event, offering deep savings across all top categories, including electronics, fashion, home, kitchen, pets, toys, and Amazon devices. Holiday gift guides and Amazon’s Toys We Love list will also make it easier for Prime members to discover, shop, and save on deals this holiday season.”
What to Expect for Amazon’s “Prime Early Access Sale”
The title “Prime Early Access Sale” implies that Amazon customers are getting early access to deals before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, which take place in November.
If the second Amazon Prime Day this fall stays consistent with past Amazon events, we expect Amazon electronics/devices, beauty products, and personal care items to be top sellers.
Amazon has hosted two key sales events in October in previous years. In 2020 Prime Day was pushed to October due to Covid supply chain challenges, and in 2021 Amazon hosted the Beauty Haul sales event in October. Envision Horizons internally did not see as strong of performance for these events as expected.
However, after an impressive Prime Day 2022 in July which not only brought high sales but also new to brand customers and increased repurchase rates, Envision Horizons is looking forward to participating in Prime Day 2.0 this October.
We also expect to see other retailers announcing their early holiday shopping sales within the next few weeks. Currently, Target Deal Days is scheduled for Oct. 6-8 and Overstock’s Cutomer Day will be running October 2nd – 3rd.
Is Participating in Prime Day Worth it?
So is participating in Prime Day worth it for Amazon sellers? The highlights from Envision Horizons’s July Prime Day speak for themselves!
- 493% – On July’s Prime Day Envision Horizons Clients saw an average increase in new to brand orders of 493% compared to an average sales day.
- 410% – On July’s Prime day Envision Horizons clients saw an average increase in sales of 410% compared to an average sales day.
- 484% – On July’s Prime Day Envision Horizons clients saw an average increase in units sold of 484% compared to an average sales day.
Does Particiapting in Prime Day Have Long Term Benefits?
We crunched the numbers post Prime Day, and went back months later to investigate any long terms benefits of participating in the July sales event. Here is what we found 70 days later on repurchase rates….
- Of the customers that shopped our clients on July 12th and 13th 5.69% of them have come back to purchase from that brand again.
- The repurchase rate for replenishable brands was higher at 7.23% with some exceeding 14%.
Why is Amazon Hosting a Second Prime Day?
Hosting a second major sales event in October is a continued experiment for Amazon, and the company will be watching closely to see how shoppers respond.
Scheduling a major sales event right before peak holiday shopping season will likely give Amazon a boost to their bottom line, however it could also have a negative impact on Amazon’s Q4 shopping volumes.
Amazon is in the midst of a difficult period due to inflation, rising interest rates and over expansion during the pandemic. Some speculate that Amazon may be facing the same issues as a lot of other retailers, siting “lots of excess inventory and no time to wait to unload it”.
It is also worth noting that this year Amazon broke tradition and raised its Prime subscription rates for the first time. This new “Prime Early Access Sale” could be Amazon’s way of adding additional benefits to Prime Membership to justify subscription cost increases for customers.
Track your Sales and Performance with myHorizons
- The Q3 / Q4 Amazon Sales events are important times to be closely monitoring your performance. Make changes to your ads or PPC campaigns as needed.
- If your inventory runs out at a faster rate than expected, plan to send more inventory to FBA or plan to ship the products yourself using third-party fulfillment or your own warehouse.
- If your sales are slow consider reviewing your PPC campaigns and increasing bids for certain keywords.
- Monitor the status and overall performance of your account with a tool like myHorizons. Take care of any problems that arise immediately so that there is no downtime for your listings. At Envision Horizons we offer 24/7 coverage.
Keep Up With What’s On The Horizon
Stay ahead of the pack by being informed about what’s new in the marketplace. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter for important Amazon updates, expert opinions and advice, and other useful tips. Subscribe Here.
Get Assistance Running Your Amazon Business
If you want assistance running your Amazon business, or are curious about how to reach your full potential selling on Amazon, see if you qualify for a free audit from Envision Horizons.