The news: Despite Amazon’s efforts to position Prime Big Deal Days as an opportunity to get a head start on holiday gifting, consumers largely used the event for other purchases.

• The average order totaled $48.74, and more than half (54%) of participating households placed at least two orders, bringing average household spending to $114.01—below the $121.96 spent during June’s Prime Day event, per Numerator data.
• Much of that spending went toward everyday essentials rather than gifts, suggesting Prime Big Deal Days is increasingly serving as a broader fall sales event rather than a true kickoff to holiday shopping.

The context: Prime Big Deal Days and other October sales events have cemented their place on the retail calendar, giving consumers a reason to spend even when they aren’t ready to tackle their holiday lists.

Prime Big Deal Days has near-universal awareness. Some 91% of shoppers knew about the event before making a purchase, up slightly from 90% last year, per a Numerator survey.

And the event itself moves consumers to shop. Some 35% of shoppers said the sale was their primary reason for shopping.

What they bought reflects Amazon’s growing role in everyday shopping. As we suggested leading up to the event, beauty and cosmetics were among the most commonly purchased categories, along with apparel, and health and wellness. Bestsellers included Premier Protein shakes, Scott toilet paper, Lysol wipes, and Dawn Powerwash. 68% of items purchased cost less than $20, just 2% topped $100, and the average item cost $23.19, per Numerator.

The data: While Prime Big Deal Days and other similar sales are an important part of brands’ holiday planning calendars, most consumers don’t appear to treat it as a holiday-shopping event. Just 20% of participants bought holiday gifts, down from 23% last year, per Numerator. Another 7% purchased Halloween items, while 7% bought other holiday products such as decorations or wrapping supplies.

Even among gift buyers, few are close to finished. Just 18% completed more than half of their gift shopping during the sale. More than half of shoppers (56%) still aren’t sure what they need or want for the holidays, while 32% said it’s simply too early to make all their holiday purchases.

That leaves plenty of holiday spending up for grabs—and consumers are willing to shop around. A majority (55%) compared prices or products at other retailers before making an Amazon purchase, roughly unchanged from 56% last year. Walmart was the most common comparison point at 66%, followed by Target at 40%, and warehouse clubs such as Costco and Sam’s Club at 27%.

Amazon’s promotional gravity can also lift its rivals. Some 33% of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers planned to or already had participated in Walmart Deals, while 24% said the same of Target Circle Deal Days.

Implications for retailers and brands: Whether Prime Big Deal Days gets consumers to buy holiday gifts or stock up on protein shakes matters less than whether it generates incremental spending. On that front, the share of shoppers who said the sale itself drove them to Amazon rose meaningfully from last year.

Amazon doesn’t need to pull holiday demand forward for Prime Big Deal Days to work. Getting shoppers to replenish toilet paper, beauty products, and other everyday essentials can reinforce the frequent purchasing habits Amazon increasingly wants to own, while giving it another opportunity to capture those shoppers’ gift spending later.