This fall, like, well, everything else this year, is full of surprises. We did not get our iPhone launch in September, Google Pixels announced three months in advance and now the famous summer Amazon Prime Day sale will go live in October. You can’t spend wisely though unless you understand marketing’s full impact. Here are several tips to help you maximize the bang for your bucks during Amazon Prime Day.


If you’re not familiar, Amazon Prime Day is one of the biggest events of the year for the e-commerce world. The first Prime Day goes back to the good old days of July 2015 and it has always been a summer sale since then. The sale was created as a membership scheme to get more consumers to become Prime members. It is a short, intense and hugely profitable sales day for Amazon and their partners. It’s estimated that 175 million products were sold in 2019 averaging over $3.5 billion dollars per 24 hours [Digital Commerce 360]. 


Mark your calendars as this year Amazon Prime Day is confirmed for 00:01 October 13th until 23:59 October 14th. It is opened to both Prime members and anyone who signs up for a 30-day free trial. Amazon guarantees that the prices found on Amazon Prime Day won’t go any lower in Black Friday or Christmas sales (although they may repeat). An Amazon rep told TechRadar that "Throughout Prime Day, members can shop with confidence that they’re getting low prices that won’t be beaten this year.” This means that when it comes to the retailers own-brand devices, you won’t be seeing them plummet to a lower price during Black Friday or the Christmas shopping period.

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Research from PWC gives useful insights to what consumers are doing for Amazon Prime Day.
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These are the stats that grabbed our attention:

• 52% will put purchases on hold in anticipation of Prime Day deals
• 40% will make impulse buys if the price is right
• 68% are looking forward to browsing  

Sale events throw a lot at a consumer, which is why it is important to strategically start before the sales day to insure that your brand is going to get noticed among the crowd. Here are 3 things you need to know about consumers this Prime Day. 
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1. Consumers are doing their homework! 

Consumers know that the time is ticking when Amazon Prime Day rolls around. A report from Periscope by McKinsey states that 75% of consumers are researching potential purchases before proceeding to buy them. So what are consumers actually doing in preparation for Amazon Brand Day. Here are the highlights: 
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• 98% of respondents see authenticated customer reviews as the most important things that influence their purchasing decisions.
  

• Map out the financial returns of your marketing: In an ideal world, the financial returns and the ability of all forms of communication to influence consumers would be precisely calculated, and deciding the marketing mix would be simple. In reality, there are multiple, and usually imperfect, ways to measure most established forms of marketing. Nothing approaches a definitive metric for social media and other emerging communication channels, and no single metric can evaluate the effectiveness of all spending. Yet you must have a way to track progress and hold marketers accountable.
  

• Promote perks – an additional reward or perk can make the shopping experience better. 93% of the respondents would be more likely to buy from a brand offering rewards, discounts, or other perks.
  

• Build a loyalty or rewards program – it’s easier to build a long-lasting relationship with a loyalty program. In fact, 90% of the respondents would join such a program if their favorite brands offered it.

2. Consumers are saving their purchase intentions in their baskets and wish lists
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‍While they are doing their homework consumers are also using the wishlist function like it is their best friend. Traditionally wish lists were made to be a middle ground for influencers who are not sure if they are fully committed to buying a product or not and they do not want to forget that they might want it. But when it comes to sales days consumers will save their items onto the wish lists or they will add it to their basket and wait for that glorious sales day to come. 

Apart from encouraging consumers to add products to their wishlist, online retailers have embraced the gamification of the shopping experience with things like the Instagram story’s countdown clocks. This Instagram feature allows users to click on it and choose to receive reminders for the event. 

Mobile Wallet cards are another great feature to remind consumers that the products they love are currently available and participating in the Amazon Prime Day sales. 

3. Consumers are looking beyond Amazon Prime Day

‍It is good to note that brands that find themselves similar to the Amazon platform also prepare themselves for their own shopping extravaganza. In an effort to compete with Amazon Prime Day the likes of Target, Best Buy and Costco also have their own versions of sales days in the past. These brands mirror Amazon’s approach, with limited-time offers, steep discounts on electronics, and special promotions for members. This year Target has announced that they will be hosting their big shopping event Oct 13-14, coincidence?

So how are you planning your strategy for the upcoming sale events? Get in touch with us and let us help you create a winning social commerce campaign for your brand.