Shoppers planning a big purchase might want to resist the urge to splurge for just another month. The e-commerce delivery expert ParcelHero says Amazon is likely to announce its ninth annual Prime Day sale very soon, and it’s most likely to fall on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 July.
ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘Amazon has revealed its last Prime Day summer sale was its biggest one yet, and there’s little reason to doubt we’ll see a similar event this July. We believe the smart money is on 11-12 July (the equivalent Tuesday and Wednesday to last year’s event) though the same days the following week, 17-18 July, are also possible.
‘Amazon Prime Day (which kicked off in 2015 and has been a 2-day event since 2017) allows Amazon Prime Members to get some hefty bargains. While the event is based around Amazon’s regular customers, many other retailers hold similar sales at the same time, to cash in on the bargain-hunting frenzy. In fact, last July Brits spent 5.3% more online than in the previous month and 1.3% more in stores, as UK shops got in on the act.
‘Both the US and the UK are having a rocky time financially, but that’s not likely to put shoppers off, and we expect this year’s event will at least equal or top the success of last year’s sale. Amazon hasn’t said officially what it made on its two-day Prime Day event last year but we think around $12bn is likely to be correct. Our figures also suggest that Brits alone spent around £1.4bn during last year’s sale and, providing this year’s bargains are as juicy, we think that’s also likely to be matched or surpassed this time around.
‘Sharp shoppers will remember Amazon also held a second Prime Day-stye event last year, on 11-12 October, which it dubbed the “Prime Early Access Sale”. We believe Amazon made around $5.7bn on its second sale, perhaps a little underwhelming compared to its summer event. However, we don’t think that means Prime sales are falling out of favour and, not only are we confident of a repeat summer sale, but it wouldn’t surprise us to see a second Early Access sale, around 10-11 October, this year.
‘As well as Amazon’s own products, from Fire tablets to Echo smart speakers, we’re expecting tempting offers on everything from earbuds to games consoles and vacuums. And if there aren’t some great air fryer deals to be had, then the fat will certainly be in the fire.
‘One pointer to this year’s offers might come from Amazon’s recent three-day Spring Sale, which it held on 27-29 March. This was open to all shoppers, not just Amazon’s loyal Prime members. Though not as tempting as its Prime events, there were worthwhile discounts on products from mobiles to electronic toothbrushes.
‘Prime Day may now be just one sale in a sea of similar events, but we still think it will be Amazon’s biggest event of the year, outstripping its Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined. Last year, shoppers worldwide purchased more than 250 million items during the two-day bonanza.
‘As long ago as 2015, ParcelHero’s far-sighted report on the future of Amazon forecast the rapid growth of Amazon Logistics and its Prime Day sale. We also predicted its use of smart doorbells to deliver into people’s homes and its trials of drone deliveries. Some of our other expectations have not yet happened, but they may well soon.’
