Eye on Retail: Amazon breaks $3.5 billion in third-party Prime Day sales

Third-party sellers on Amazon across the globe had their two biggest days ever during the 2020 edition of Prime Day.

Amazon hosted its 48-hour Prime Day omnichannel sales extravaganza Oct. 13-14 across 19 countries - U.S., U.K., U.A.E., Turkey, Spain, Singapore, Netherlands, Mexico, Luxembourg, Japan, Italy, Germany, France, China, Canada, Brazil, Belgium, Austria, and Australia. The e-tail giant reports third-party sellers in these countries, nearly all of which are small- and medium-sized businesses, saw record-breaking sales, surpassing $3.5 billion in total. 

Third-party sales increased nearly 60% over Prime Day 2019, growing more than Amazon’s retail business. Top-selling categories for third-party sellers included bedding; wireless accessories; nutrition & wellness; arts, crafts & sewing; and health care.

In addition, Amazon says Prime members around the world saved over $1.4 billion during the event. While the company traditionally does not release complete metrics for its annual Prime Day sale, the 2019 edition (held in July) is estimated to have generated $6.93 billion, including $4.32 billion in the U.S. eMarketer has predicted Prime Day 2020 will generate $9.91 billion in sales worldwide, including $6.17 billion in the U.S.

Best-selling products globally included Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick 4K with Alexa Voice Remote, iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, and Lego Star Wars Stormtrooper Helmet, among others.
 
Here are some additional highlights from Prime Day 2020.

•    Echo Dot was the most popular item purchased on Prime Day globally.
•    Customers purchased millions of Alexa-compatible devices during the Prime Day event.
•    Home; electronics; nutrition & wellness; and arts, crafts & sewing were among the best-selling categories globally.
•    Top-selling items in the U.S. (excluding Amazon devices) included iRobot Roomba Robot Vacuum, MyQ Wireless & WiFi Enabled Smart Garage Door Opener, LifeStraw Personal Water Filter, Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Vitamins, and Kids Against Maturity: Card Game for Kids and Families.
•    On Prime Day, the fastest delivery was delivered in 29 minutes and 54 seconds, and included Febreze Car Air Freshener Vent Clips. 
•    In the U.S., of those Prime members who selected Amazon Day as their preferred delivery option on Prime Day, Saturday was the most popular delivery day selected.
•    As of the end of Oct, 13, the top 10 U.S. cities where Prime members used the Amazon Hub Locker or Counter service were Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Jose, and Seattle.

“We are thrilled that Prime Day was a record-breaking event for small and medium businesses worldwide, with sales surpassing $3.5 billion—an increase of nearly 60% from last year,” said Jeff Wilke, CEO worldwide consumer, Amazon. “We’re also proud that Prime members saved more than $1.4 billion, and we look forward to providing more opportunities for our selling partners to grow and customers to save throughout the holiday season. I’m incredibly thankful to our employees and partners around the world who helped make Prime Day possible, especially the dedicated front-line teams in our fulfillment centers and delivery operations.”

This was originally published on chainstoreage.com.