Amazon’s Holiday Kickoff Sale Falls Flat Against Prior Prime Days

Amazon Prime Early Access Day this October was more subdued than Prime Days of years past, boosting sales for the online retailer by around 15% over average weekly sales. This is significantly lower than the boost that Prime Days typically generate for Amazon. July 2022’s Prime Day propelled weekly sales 37% higher than the trailing 4 weeks average. October 2020 Prime Day, the pandemic makeup date, and the June 2021 event both saw sales grow over 20% vs a regular business week at Amazon. 

The October 2022 Prime Day marks the first time the ecommerce behemoth hosted two Prime Days in a year. This is in keeping with a post-pandemic trend of retailers beginning holiday promotions ever earlier. Rivals Walmart and Target both began their holiday promotions in early October. This year’s earlier promotions could strike the right chord with shoppers looking to spread out their holiday spend as inflation crimps consumer budgets.