Amazon Prime Day: Sales Expected at $14 Billion, Record

Since the first Prime Day launched in 2015, Amazon has seen the 48-hour event grow into a massive revenue generator. New estimates predict that this year’s Prime Day on July 16 and 17 could be Amazon’s biggest event yet, surpassing last year’s $12.7 billion in sales.

Adobe Analytics, the e-commerce research arm of Adobe that is used by more than 85% of the 100 largest U.S. retailers, told Reuters on Monday that spending on this week’s two-day Amazon Prime Day event could increase 10.5% from last year, to about $14 billion.

Prime Day is an exclusive event for Amazon Prime members. Monthly membership prices are $7.49 for students and $14.99 for everyone else.

The expected 10.5% sales increase this year is larger than the 6.1% revenue increase from Prime Day 2022 to 2023. Global sales totaled $12 billion in 2022 and rose to $12.9 billion the following year, according to Statista estimates. Amazon had its biggest sales day ever on the first day of Prime Day last year.

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Over the past decade that Amazon has held Prime Day, the e-commerce giant has seen sales for the event grow — every year. For example, from 2019 to 2020, Amazon saw its Prime Day revenue increase by more than $4 billion — from $7.16 billion to $10.39 billion.

How does Amazon manage to make more money on Prime Day?

The answer may lie in the sale’s prime timing and the growing number of Prime members who have access to it.

Prime Day has become a major back-to-school event, especially for apparel and electronics. Adobe Analytics expects “really strong momentum” in Prime sales in the back-to-school category, according to Reuters.

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Adobe also predicts that electronics will be the most discounted category this year, with a 22% savings. Clothing, housewares and furniture, and sporting goods are expected to have 20%, 17%, and 11% discounts, respectively.

More and more U.S. households are also opting for Prime memberships. From 2017 to 2020, Prime membership doubled from 100 million to 200 million, and the percentage of Amazon sellers offering Prime fast shipping increased from about 60% to more than 80%.

Amazon packages shipped during the Prime event will likely feature 100% recycled paper filler instead of plastic air cushions, if at all. Amazon has committed to the change for all deliveries in North America by the end of the year and has already replaced 95% of its delivery packaging.

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