Amazon Prime Day Sales Grow More Than 60%

Amazon.com’s Prime Day sale generated the "biggest day ever" for the retailer. The online retailer reported that sales grew by more than 60 percent from the same 30-hour window in 2016. Customers bought three times as many Echo-family speakers on Prime Day this year vs. last year (Prime Day 2017 was extended to 30 hours, while the event last year was only 24 hours). Despite some glitches, like the Prime button missing from some product listings, third-party sellers sold over 50 percent more items on the marketplace by 3:00 pm ET than in the same time frame last year, according to Amazon. The company hasn't disclosed sales figures for Amazon Prime Day as of yet.

Total Retail’s Take: Amazon seems to have found a winning formula with its Prime Day, and Prime membership in general. Amazon’s innovations and breakneck pace of growth are completely taking over retail as more shoppers prefer to buy online instead of heading into stores.

“Amazon’s major draw for consumers is its convenience — so much so that many of them cite this as the top factor in shopping with it,” said Pamela Sullins, vice president of retail client services at Kobie Marketing. “But price can also be a strong driver of customer loyalty, and Amazon is smart to provide an added incentive in offering major deals and discounts to its Prime members on Prime Day. What’s more, offering exclusive deals and early access to promotions plays into what the modern consumer wants from their status as a loyalty program member: priority, personalized offers and early access to benefits.”