175 million. No, that's not the population of a large country. Good guess though.
It’s how many items Prime members purchased from Amazon during its 2019 Prime Day sales event, which the ecommerce titan expanded to 48 hours this year.
And while we’re already getting the sense that Prime Day this year was a smash hit, many pressing questions remain:
- How many shoppers participated in Prime Day 2019?
- Did shoppers patronize Prime Day alternatives, like Target’s “Deal Days," Walmart’s “Big Save,” and eBay's "Crash Sale"?
- What did shoppers purchase during these summer sales events?
- Did shoppers use these summer sales to make back to school and/or holiday purchases?
Questions like these deserve fast answers.
Surveying Summer-Sale Shoppers
Beginning at 3 a.m. (EST) on Wednesday morning, retail-auditing and insights firm Field Agent surveyed 3,144 shoppers* about their participation in Prime Day and other summer sales.
*All respondents were U.S. smartphone owners at least 18 years of age. The survey was conducted entirely through the Field Agent mobile app. 65% of respondents claimed to be current Amazon Prime members. Demos: Gender - Female (72%), Male (28%); Age - 18-34 (32%), 35-44 (35%), 45-54 (20%), 55+ (13%); Household Income - <$35K (25%), $35-49K (19%), $50-74K (23%), $75-99K (16%), $100K+ (18%); Race (weighted to reflect the following percentages) - Caucasian (63%), Hispanic (17%), African-American (14%); other (6%).
We were specifically interested in shoppers’ participation in the following events and time frames:
- Amazon's Prime Day (Monday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 16)
- Walmart's Big Save (Monday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 16)
- Walmart's Google Week (Monday, July 8 through Tuesday, July 16)
- Target's Deal Days (Monday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 16)
- eBay's Crash Sale (Monday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 16)
- Macy's Black Friday in July (Monday, July 8 through Tuesday, July 16)
- Old Navy's 50%-off sale (Monday, July 15)
As you can see from the photos below, Field Agent also asked several shoppers to take photos of their summer-sale purchases…and to tell us why they made them.
Below we offer 21 quick insights into Prime Day 2019 and other summer sales events.
37% of respondents (N = 3,144) reported making an online purchase during one or more of the summer sales above, specifically to take advantage of sale discounts/promotions. The top reasons for non-participation were:
- Lack of awareness - "I was not aware of most of the sales and I do not have an Amazon Prime membership, so I did not look into that sale."
- Short on funds - "My family is struggling to make our regular monthly bill payments, we cannot afford anything extra right now."
- No present needs/wants - "I did not need anything and did not have extra money to spend on unnecessary things."
- Lack of interest - "I am not interested in any of those sales, as every single day I am bombarded with email offers from all those retailers."
- Underwhelming sales - "It’s all overrated. The prices are the same when other deals are offered throughout the year."
32% of respondents (N = 3,144) made online purchases through Amazon specifically to take advantage of Prime Day deals, compared to 5% who participated in Walmart's Big Save and 5% in Target's Deal Days.
Other participation rates were as follows: Old Navy's 50%-off sale (3%), Macy's Black Friday in July (2%), eBay's Crash Sale (2%), and Walmart's Google Week (1%)
88% of respondents who made purchases during one or more of the summer sales above (n = 1,144) were Amazon Prime members.
34% of those who made summer-sale purchases yet did not participate in Amazon's Prime Day (n = 139) said they didn't because they were not Prime members, while 26% said they shopped with Amazon on Prime Day but couldn't find a deal they wanted.
See Also: Inside the AmazonFresh delivery experience
45% of those who made purchases from Amazon on Prime Day (n = 1,005) said they did so on Monday, July 15, compared to only 29% who made purchases on Tuesday, July 16 and 26% on both days.
24% of respondents who made purchases during one or more summer sales events (n = 1,144) said they bought clothes, footwear, underwear, jewelry, and/or wearable accessories. Attire + wearable accessories were the top purchase among summer-sale participants.
22% of summer-sale participants (n = 1,144) purchased at least one Echo, Kindle, or other Amazon-branded electronic. Only 3% said they bought Google Home devices.
21% of summer-sale participants (n = 1,144) reported buying household electronics like TVs, speakers, and computers (not appliances).
18% purchased personal care, health, hygiene, or cosmetic products.
14% bought food, snacks, and/or beverages.
12% said they purchased non-durable, non-grocery household consumables like paper towels and detergent, while another 12% bought pet supplies and 7% baby supplies.
11% bought home goods, furniture, and/or home decor, compared to 9% who purchased durable kitchen supplies, 3% major cleaning appliances (e.g., vacuum cleaner, washing machine), and 3% durable bathroom supplies.
25% of summer-sale participants (n = 1,144) said they made one or more holiday-gift purchases during Prime Day or another summer sale.
23%, likewise, said they made at least one back-to-school/college purchase.
61% of respondents who participated in a summer sale (n = 1,144) indicated they’ll spend more during the BIG four days of holiday shopping (i.e., Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday) than they did for the summer sales. Only 12% said they'll spend less.
15% reported making one or more online, summer-sale purchases for pick-up at a local store.
47% of respondents who made summer-sale purchases (n = 1,144) said they delayed one or more purchases in the days leading up to the sales, choosing instead to wait for the deep discounts.
51% said their summer-sale purchases (n = 1,144) were entirely or mostly planned purchases.
34%, conversely, said their summer-sale purchases with entirely or mostly unplanned (i.e., on-impulse).
55% of summer-sale participants (n =1,144) indicated that online product-reviews and/or ratings were either extremely or very influential over their purchases.
47% of respondents who made summer-sale purchases (n = 1,144) disagreed with the statement, “I bought things during summer sales events that I don’t really need.” However, 42% agreed with the statement.
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