Market researcher Numerator has released The Opportunity and Impact of Digital Sales Events report, which focuses on Amazon Prime Day and Big Deal Days, and their relationship with corresponding Walmart and Target initiatives.
The report analyzes six key retail events online in the United States as conducted by Amazon, Walmart and Target. In 2023, July sales events overlapped for all three retailers and lifted omnichannel traffic by 11% overall versus the average week. According to the research, Amazon benefited most from its July Prime Day event, while Target and Walmart saw better traffic and sales with their October Circle Week and Holiday Kickoff events. The analysis leverages verified purchase data from each of the retail sales events, Numerator maintained, as well as sentiment surveys of the same buyers.
Key findings Include, characterized by Numerator:
- Two in five U.S. households indicated interest in shopping Prime Day 2024, compared to July 2023 when 40% of consumers shopped at least one online sales event, with almost all of those consumers shopping on Prime Day.
- July event shoppers were 11% more likely than the average shopper to be Gen X or Millennial and 23% more likely to have children aged up to five years.
- Consumers are split on their feelings regarding retail sales events through the year with 35% saying there are too many events, 33% saying they wish there were more and 32% saying the number of events is just right.
- More than half of Prime Day 2024 shoppers said they would likely be comparing prices at other retailers but still buying on Amazon, a proportion that comes in around the Prime Day 2023 figure of 54%.
- In 2023, 78% of July retail event shoppers purchased on Amazon only, while 6.7% purchased on Amazon and Walmart.com, 5.5% on Amazon and Target.com, 5.7% only on Walmart.com, and 3.5% only on Target.com.
- The major cited desire for shopping at a retailer’s sales event is price, tops for 75% of shoppers. Then 57% want a wide variety of items on sale, 44% want fast shipping, 39% want the online shopping experience and 37% want easy returns.
- In October 2023, Amazon saw 12% less household penetration during its Prime Big Deal Days event versus its July Prime Day, while, in contrast, Walmart saw a 15% gain and Target saw a 21% advance in penetration during their October events compared to their July events.
- As the year winds down, 74% of consumers said they think of Walmart for holiday sales events, up 25 percentage points versus non-holiday sales events; and 58% think of Target for holiday sale events, up 19 points. Some 70% of people think of Amazon for holiday sales events, down nine points.
- Target.com shoppers demonstrated 2.6 times more loyalty to the retailer if they shopped the 2023 October Circle Week. Walmart.com’s shoppers demonstrated 2.5 times more loyalty if they shopped the 2023 Holiday Kickoff event. Amazon shoppers demonstrated 1.6 times more loyalty if they shopped the retailer’s Prime Big Deal Days in October.
An effort to ensure consumers know about promotions beforehand helps drive success, as 100% of Amazon Prime Day 2023 shoppers said they were aware that the event was going on, doubling Amazon’s average household penetration of 21% to 40.1%, representing a 91% gain during the event. Some 88% of Target Circle Week shoppers were aware of the event, boosting Target household penetration by 26%. Some 56% of Walmart+ Week shoppers were aware of the event, boosting household penetration by 6%.
