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Prime Big Deal Days 2024: Key Insights and Performance Trends

SUMMARY

An analysis of the biggest Fall event of 2024 including overall industry data and our client data. 

Picture of Marissa Incitti

Marissa Incitti

Associate Director of Content for Feedvisor

Another fall event is in the books, and Amazon once again delivered its “biggest event ever” with Prime Big Deal Days. This year’s event successfully attracted consumers by offering compelling deals, even amidst economic uncertainty and shifting consumer priorities.

While Amazon has not released specific numbers, the event’s success can be seen through the lens of incremental growth, where even small gains contribute to the continued expansion of this retail milestone. However, this year had more challenges than last with a major port strike resolved just days before and a natural disaster in the form of Hurricane Milton ripping through the 3rd most populated state in the U.S.

Despite these unforeseen and unfortunate events, Prime Big Deal Days (PBDD) was generally seen as a success for most. Below, we analyze our customer data compared to previous events and discuss trends for the upcoming holiday season.

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Consumers Stock Up on Goods Rather Than Shop for Holidays

Overall, our clients saw a 24% increase in sales over the two-day period when compared to last year’s event, with the second day showing the highest sales increase. The add-to-carts on Day 1 were much higher, signaling consumers chose to shop around for deals before ultimately making a purchase on the second day. 

The top categories mirrored those seen industry-wide, with Household Essentials taking center stage as a majority of consumers used this as an opportunity to stock up rather than shop for gifts. According to Numerator, only 24% of consumers purchased gifts during the event. Other top categories include Apparel, Beauty, Electronics, and Home Goods. 

Amazon’s statement on independent sellers achieving “record sales” and Prime members saving over $1 billion on seasonal merchandise and gifts underscores the platform’s dominance in e-commerce. According to Numerator, this success is bolstered by consumer behavior, with a substantial 55% comparing prices across competitors like Walmart, Target, and club stores before making their purchases on Amazon. 

However, a significant portion of shoppers engaged with competing sales events compared to last year, such as Target Circle Week and Walmart Holiday Deals, highlighting the competitive landscape where Amazon continues to lead. 

Amazon’s recent success can be attributed, in part, to the AI-driven features designed to simplify shopping. Its new generative AI assistant, Rufus, helps customers discover and find products and tailor deal recommendations, streamlining the discovery of products and in this case, gifts. Other tools, like Inspire, a personalized in-app product feed, and Amazon Lens, a visual shopping tool, enhance product browsing. AI Shopping Guides further reduce research time by offering curated content on product categories, key features, and top brands. These innovations are reshaping the shopping experience and driving customer engagement.

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Advertising Hits the Mark But Smaller Returns As Consumer Attention Wanes

Ad sales for our clients grew by 7% year over year, a positive result, though overshadowed by the 61% rise in ad spend. This disparity points to the increasing cost of maintaining visibility in a competitive landscape. The 100% increase in cost per thousand impressions (CPM) reflects this competition, particularly in categories like Electronics, where CPM surged by 271%, underscoring the fierce demand for consumer attention in high-traffic markets. The growing reliance on upper-funnel inventory and video formats—both of which come with higher CPMs—has further driven up costs, as more brands lean into these ad types to capture early-stage interest and build brand awareness amidst intensifying competition.

As a result of the higher costs, return on ad spend (ROAS) fell by 33%, meaning advertisers are earning less revenue per dollar spent. Correlated with this, advertising cost of sales (ACOS) increased by 50%, highlighting the need for greater efficiency in driving sales through ads. The gap between ad spend and returns signals the growing challenge advertisers face: rising competition and more fractured consumer attention.

This trend reflects the shifting digital advertising space, where budgets are stretched and consumer behavior is increasingly fragmented. Brands must now focus on smarter, more targeted strategies to maintain visibility and engagement. At Feedvisor, we are helping clients meet these challenges by leveraging AI-driven tools to optimize ad spend, ensuring campaigns reach the right audiences at the right time across the funnel. By utilizing advanced measurement tools like Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) and multi-touch attribution (MTA), we provide deeper insights into how campaigns perform across the customer journey, allowing clients to make data-driven decisions and improve ROI. As advertising costs rise, this holistic approach is essential for achieving sustainable growth and maximizing the impact of every advertising dollar.

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Q4 Performance Will Be Mixed

As we move into Q4, consumer spending habits are likely to be influenced by a mix of economic and political factors. The uncertainty surrounding the upcoming election, combined with the consumer price index rising to 2.4% in the last month (higher than experts predicted), may lead to more cautious spending. Consumers could delay discretionary purchases as they navigate concerns about potential policy shifts depending on the election outcome.

However, higher wages may provide a buffer, enabling continued spending on essential items or early holiday shopping, despite rising costs. For brands, this underscores the importance of agile marketing strategies—adjusting campaigns to resonate with consumers’ financial realities while offering value-driven propositions. In this volatile environment, businesses will need to balance strategic pricing and targeted advertising to capture holiday demand while navigating the uncertainties ahead.

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