Amazon Prime Day takes place today through October 11th. Just how big of a day is this for Amazon and the vendors that sell on Amazon? Here are some numbers:
Amazon launched Prime in 2005 as a subscription service that in return for an annual fee, Prime members would receive free shipping, Amazon Prime video streaming that rivals with Netflix. Prime members also receive a music subscription service to rival Spotify and Apple Music as well as exclusive deals that happen annually known as Prime Day. Since Covid, Amazon has run two Prime days annually.
Amazon reportedly had over 200 million Prime subscribers in 2022 (it was 100 million in 2018) in 23 countries and at an average $99 subscription fee, that accounts for just shy of $20 billion in annual revenue each year. While Amazon is aggressively expanding the service globally, over 70% of Prime members reside in the United States. As impressive as this number is, the rapid growth of Prime membership is actually slowing mostly due to saturation. In the 18- to 34-year-old category, a staggering 81% of U.S. household with an internet connection already have a Prime account. Amazon reportedly sells 100,000 items per minute during Prime Day and in 2022 sales generated over $12 billion in revenue with over 300 million items sold globally in a single day. The first Prime day was held in 2015 where the company generated $900 million during the sales day.
90% of Prime members purchase a subscription citing the importance of free shipping and the average Prime member spends $1,400 us, per year on the Amazon site. According to data from Statistica, in 2022, 55% of Canadian shoppers reported to have used Amazon Prime services. Of those 55%, 12% responded that they accessed the services by using someone else’s account.
As stated in the last Amazon Quarterly report “Amazon held the biggest Prime Day event ever on July 11-12 2023, in the third quarter, as Prime members worldwide purchased more than 375 million items and saved more than $2.5 billion. This year, Amazon offered more deals than any past Prime Day, with Home, Fashion, and Beauty among the top-selling deal categories. This was the largest Prime Day ever for Amazon’s independent sellers, most of which are small and medium-sized businesses, and the first where U.S.-based Prime members could shop deals directly from merchant sites using Buy with Prime.”
We will find out just how big today and tomorrow are for Amazon in the next Quarterly report.