Amazon Prime Day Expects $10 Billion in Global Sales

According to new forecasts for Amazon Prime Day released by eMarketer, global revenues for Prime Day in October will reach close to $10 billion, higher than in 2019.

It is estimated that in 2020, Prime Day global sales will reach $9.91 billion, of which $6.17 billion will come from US consumers. That number exceeds Prime Day sales over the past few years. Global revenues for Prime Day in 2019 were $6.93 billion, of which $4.32 billion came from the United States. Sales in 2016 were $1.5 billion, in 2017 it was $24.70 million, and in 2018 it was $4.13 billion.

These figures are almost in line with other projections. Internet Retailer estimates that global revenues for Prime Day in 2019 totaled $7.16 billion, up from $4.19 billion a year earlier. Amazon didn’t give details on Prime Day sales, but it is said that in 2019, it sold 175 million items during that period.

Of course, predicting Prime Day in 2020 is quite difficult due to the impact of COVID-19 on the e-commerce industry. The COVID-19 crisis has disrupted supply chains and caused delays. Meanwhile, consumer demand may become unpredictable. In the major retail sector so far, the growth in e-commerce spending is closely related to the government’s stimulus measures.

In 2020, Amazon held Prime Day in August in India, while annual sales in most markets fell from mid-July to October due to COVID-19. After the event in India, Amazon is said to have added at least one million new Prime members.

Despite the change in timing, Prime Day 2020 is expected to lead to increased traffic and sales. Since the start of Prime Day in 2015, Amazon has expanded its size and handling volume. While it changes little by little every year and offers significant discounts on Amazon Echo and Fire TV, sellers have been preparing inventory in addition to promotions and advertising strategies. Amazon has already set discounts for Echo Show 5 from $90 to $45 for Prime members and Echo Auto from $30 to $19.99 for Prime members. Prime Dayton officially kicks off on October 13th.

Prime Day stimulates competitors’ sales. The Amazon event also has a ripple effect on other e-commerce sectors, leading to an increase in online sales. Target is planning Target Deal Days to coincide with the Prime Day period, and Wal-Mart will hold the event from October 11th to 15th. Related information can be found here.