In addition to our Prime Day hourly reports, we're excited to release our comprehensive summer Prime Day report: “Secrets of Prime Day 2024: Insights to Skyrocket Your Amazon Growth.” This detailed analysis not only revisits this year’s July Prime Day, but also compares it to last year’s event, providing invaluable data and insights at both the overall and category levels. Here’s a deep dive into what this year’s Prime Day revealed and what you can learn from it.

Prime Day 2024: A double-edged sword for ecommerce brands

Amazon Prime Day 2024 offered the expected surge in traffic but yielded a somewhat reduced impact on sales as compared to 2023. Despite a similar influx of shoppers, conversion rates were lower, leading to less direct sales growth. This indicates that while Prime Day continues to attract massive customer engagement, converting this traffic into sustained sales remains a challenge. Here are our three key takeaways from the July event:

1. Diminished sales impact

Although Prime Day 2024 saw high traffic comparable to last year, sales growth didn’t match the enthusiasm. This year's event highlighted a decline in conversion rates, meaning that even with more visitors (traffic and glance views), window shopping was prevalent as fewer shoppers actually made purchases. For the upcoming Fall Prime Day, brands need to reassess their retail media, pricing and promotion strategies to ensure they’re converting high traffic into meaningful sales.

2. High ad spend, lower ROAS

Leading up to Prime Day, brands significantly increased their advertising efforts—especially with Sponsored Display ads. However, this boost in ad spend didn’t necessarily translate into proportional returns. Advertising was expensive this year, from sponsored to cost-per-click  … and even after Prime Day concluded, many brands saw a notable decline in ROAS continue.

Mid- to high-range discount percentages generally drove stronger ROAS and sales during the event, but also led to a sharp drop-off in sales once the event concluded. This indicates that while aggressive ad spending can boost short-term sales, it may not always sustain long-term profitability.

3. Inventory and Profitability Challenges

One of the major takeaways from this year’s Prime Day is the critical importance of inventory management. The Home & Kitchen category, which saw significant advertising investments, experienced notable gains. However, widespread inventory management issues led to a staggering 200% increase in revenue losses due to out-of-stock situations. This underscores the urgent need for better inventory forecasting and demand planning. Additionally, despite lower ad costs this year, overall profitability and margins suffered. Brands need to enhance their retail media strategies, budget ad spending more effectively, and continuously optimize their product mix to improve profitability.

Our recommendations for future Prime Day success

• Reevaluate conversion strategies: Even with high traffic, brands need to focus on converting visitors into buyers. Analyzing conversion funnels and optimizing user experience could help in achieving better results.
• Optimize ad spend and discounts: While higher discounts can boost ROAS in the short term, it's crucial to balance ad spending and discount strategies to ensure sustainable profitability. Adjusting ad strategies post-event and managing discounts wisely can help in maintaining profitability.
• Strengthen inventory management: Improving inventory forecasting and demand planning is essential to avoid out-of-stock issues and prevent revenue losses. Investing in technologies that aid in real-time inventory management can provide a significant advantage.

Preparing for the next Prime Day

Prime Day 2024 reaffirmed its status as a pivotal shopping event, driving substantial sales boosts across various categories. However, it also highlighted areas where brands need to adapt and refine their strategies. By focusing on better conversion practices, optimizing ad spending, and improving inventory management, brands can harness the full potential of Prime Day moving forward.

For a deeper dive into these insights and more, download our full report, Secrets of Prime Day 2024: Insights to Skyrocket Your Amazon Growth, and discover actionable strategies to elevate your Amazon growth.