Small brands score big on largest Prime Day ever

This year’s Prime Day was the biggest sales event in Amazon’s history. During the 48-hour event, Prime members bought a staggering 175 million items, surpassing the online retailer’s 2018 sales for Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

Prime members worldwide saved more than one billion dollars, in total. Members in 18 countries shopped, and millions of items shipped in one day or less, making it also the fastest Prime Day ever.

The eCommerce experts of Velocity Commerce Group (VCG) were especially interested to see small and mid-size brands take their sales to the next level,  recording more than $2 billion in Prime Day sales and doubling the $1 billion in sales they enjoyed in 2018.

This confirms what we have been saying: Amazon is an increasingly level playing field for sellers of all sizes, providing huge opportunities for challenger brands—especially on Prime Day.

At least half of Prime members (56% U.S., 50% U.K.) are likely to try a product they don’t normally buy if offered at a Prime Day discount, according to Profitero. So, with the right eCommerce strategy, small brands can not only accelerate traffic, but also amp up trial and purchase.

This year, Amazon created toolkits to help brands build sales by advertising their Prime Day deals on social media. But Facebook ads alone are not enough to grab attention and make the buy happen on Amazon.

At VCG, we take a multifaceted approach, reviewing our clients’ Amazon content strategy, marketing, inventory management and more to ensure they receive maximum gains. After all, Amazon is like no other distribution channel. You need to evaluate data points from its various interconnected components to achieve success, especially as Amazon continues to grow.

This year’s Prime Day proved once again that Amazon is a master at drawing consumers into its ecosystem. More Amazon devices were sold than ever before, deepening Amazon’s presence in more households and increasing its sales leverage. The Echo Dot and the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Remote were top sellers.

Millions of members also live streamed Prime Day events, including a concert headlined by Taylor Swift and “infomercials” on the Prime-member landing page, further entrenching these members in Amazon’s content and encouraging them to buy.

Many marketers see the enormous exposure that Amazon provides, but don’t appreciate the synergy of all its parts. That’s why VCG’s expertise is critical. We make sure brands have the right assets in place at every step, helping clients increase their Amazon search results and sales, but also ensure the right distribution and fulfillment, so products are in stock and ready to ship.

Rami Odeh

Vice President, Velocity Commerce Group

Velocity Commerce Group helps brands design and implement an Amazon commerce strategy designed to boost sales. Want to talk about what we can do to improve your results? Reach out to us here with questions.

ABOUT VELOCITY COMMERCE GROUP (www.velocitycommercegroup.com)?Headquartered in Chicago, VELOCITY COMMERCE GROUP is a consultancy born out of TPN, an Omnicom Group creative commerce agency. The team works with brands and manufacturers to manage their relationship with digital commerce.