Recapping Amazon Prime Day 2024

In this white paper, we are going to explore and dive into the trends and triumphs of Amazon's Prime Day 2024. We will look at category and market insights from the US and Europe. We will also provide you with case studies highlighting and showing you what we did as an agency for our clients.

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of advertising data from July's Prime Day event, comparing trends against Prime Day 2023. It draws on insights from thousands of advertisers across a wide range of brand sizes and product categories, including Pet Food and Supplies, Beauty and Personal Care, and Electronics.

Prime Day 2024 has come and gone, shattering records and making it Amazon's largest Prime Day event yet. According to Adobe Analytics, Prime Day sales drove overall US retail sales to $14.2 billion over those two days, an 11% increase year-over-year.

We hope with the insights discussed that you can evaluate your own performance and gain some more knowledge on industry trends.

Source: Adobe Analytics.

The top items on Prime Day 2024 were Amazon Fire TV Sticks, Premier Protein Shakes, and Liquid IV Packets. Nearly two-thirds of Prime Day items (63%) sold for under $20, while 4% were over $100. The average spend per item was $28.06. The top categories buyers said they purchased were apparel and shoes, home goods, and household essentials. This data is based off the US market.

Prime Day attracts slightly older, higher-income shoppers than everyday Amazon shoppers. Compared to the typical Amazon shopper, who is younger and higher income than the average US shopper, Prime Day 2024 shoppers were more likely to be high-income Gen X'ers. Most were aware of the sale in advance and approached it with a plan. The data below represents Prime Day in the US.

Data from Pacvue and Numerator.

Examining the data by category reveals distinct trends in how different sectors approached Prime Day in the US. The Patio, Lawn and Garden category continued its trend of rising costs, with CPC up by 47% year-over-year during Prime Day. Meanwhile, Baby Products saw the largest decline in CPC, down by 32.7%. Grocery saw a 27.4% increase in CPC, along with Pet Supplies seeing an increase in CPC of 32%.

Brands selling on Amazon's European marketplaces, including the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, significantly ramped up ad spending during Prime Day 2024, with a 36.8% year-on-year increase, compared to a 26.3% rise in the US. However, ad spending on Day 2 was 8.5% lower than on Day 1, despite CPC rising on the second day. As expected, CPC increased by 14.5% year-on-year on Day 1 and by 5.7% on Day 2, as more brands focused on capitalising on shoppers' purchases on Day 1.

This trend has been consistent in Europe over the past three years, and it is likely to continue. Sponsored Products ads dominated Prime Day, with brands allocating the majority of their budgets to Sponsored Products ads (77%), followed by Sponsored Brands ads (17%), and Sponsored Display ads (6%).

ROAS saw a decline this year, down 22.7% year-on-year on Day 1 and 12.0% on Day 2, driven by increased competition and higher CPCs. Although ROAS was lower than last year's Prime Day, it still outperformed the two weeks leading up to the event, averaging $8.78. European brands are beginning to follow the US trend of increasing ad spend ahead of the event, with 2024 marking the highest pre-Prime Day spending in the EU.

As DSP gains popularity in Europe, we expect this trend to continue as more brands focus on driving top-of-funnel awareness before sales events. Conversions remained flat year-on-year, with an average conversion rate of 18% during the event, 6.3% lower than the average conversion rate in the US.

• 98% knew July 16 and 17 were Prime Day before they shopped on Amazon.
• 84% had shopped during past Prime Day sales, up from 66% in 2023.
• 83% had an idea of what they wanted to purchase going into Prime Day.

Data from Pacvue and Numerator.

During Prime Days, the brand saw significant improvements in both ROAS (+87%) and CvR (+100%), indicating a highly successful promotional period despite the increased cost of advertising. The brand effectively leveraged the high traffic and purchase intent during Prime Days to drive better performance outcomes.

The brand experienced a significant increase in performance. Ordered revenue surged by 366%, while ad sales grew by 358% compared to normal days. This uplift suggests the brand benefited greatly from the increased traffic and promotions, with substantial improvements in both sales and advertising efficiency.

Prime Day 2024 showcased the immense potential for the brand in a highly competitive marketplace. The substantial increase in ordered revenue and ad sales demonstrates not only heightened consumer interest but also the effectiveness of our marketing initiatives. The dramatic rise in conversion rates highlights our ability to attract and convert more shoppers during peak periods, reinforcing the brand's appeal.

Although the CPC has risen, the overall ROI and significant revenue growth underline the brand's strong positioning and the opportunity for continued momentum. This Prime Day has solidified the brand's presence and set a new benchmark for future success.

A growing number of brands are turning to DSP, reflected in a 39% year-on-year increase in DSP ad spending. In the week leading up to Prime Day, DSP spending soared by 135.4%. Unlike Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands, DSP investment rose on Day 2, capturing more new-to-brand sales than on Day 1. Brands can capitalise on this trend by planning to retarget these new audiences throughout the 2024 holiday season.

In the lead-up to Prime Day, there was a slight uptick in new-to-brand sales as brands increased their ad spending, indicating a concentrated effort on customer acquisition before the event. However, compared to 2023, the percentage of new-to-brand sales was slightly lower, with Day 1 at 63% and Day 2 at 64%, down from 66% and 68% last year. Despite this modest decline, new-to-brand sales remained strong during Prime Day, underscoring the event's effectiveness in attracting new customers through DSP ads.

DSP plays a crucial role in the awareness and consideration stages of the consumer's journey, making it one of the most important starting points in the path to purchase. By utilising DSP, brands can strategically target potential customers based on their shopping behaviours, demographics, and interactions with Amazon.

Amazon Marketing Cloud (AMC) provides deep insights into how customers interact with your ads across the entire path to purchase. Using AMC, advertisers can analyse how DSP campaigns influence consumer behaviour and measure the incremental impact of those ads.

Here's how DSP and AMC work together:

• Ad exposure. DSP serves ads to consumers across multiple platforms, creating various touchpoints.
• Cross-channel attribution. AMC allows you to track these touchpoints, offering a holistic view of how consumers are moving through the sales funnel, from the first ad exposure to the final conversion.
• Optimisation. With AMC's data-driven insights, you can determine which strategies and channels are most effective, helping you optimise future DSP campaigns for higher ROI.

AMC essentially becomes your control centre for understanding which DSP ads are truly contributing to sales, and helps pinpoint where to focus your efforts for maximum impact.

In the days leading up to Prime Day, ROAS reached a low of $3.95 two days before the event but rebounded to $4.30 on Prime Day 1. On Day 2, however, ROAS dropped by 14% to $3.70. Year-on-year, ROAS was down 26.4%, likely due to increased competition and higher CPCs. Conversion rates mirrored this trend, dipping to 21.8% the day before Prime Day but rising to 25.1% on Day 1.

Despite these challenges, overall conversion rates improved by 6.8% compared to last year, suggesting that enhanced creative strategies have successfully boosted conversions even in a more competitive environment. With rising competition leading to a decline in ROAS, it's more important than ever for brands to partner with experts. We provide the strategic support needed to navigate these challenges and ensure your brand thrives on Amazon, staying ahead of the competition.

Data from Pacvue and Numerator.