The data: While Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days event is only three years old, it has already cemented its place on many consumers’ calendars.

• Ninety-five percent of consumers who shopped during Prime Big Deal Days knew the event was happening before they shopped on Amazon, and 48% said the sale was their primary reason for shopping, per a Numerator survey of 800 verified buyers during the event.
• But even though the event serves as the unofficial kickoff to Amazon’s holiday season, only one-quarter (26%) of respondents bought holiday gifts. The most popular categories consumers bought in were household essentials (24%), apparel and shoes (22%), home goods (22%), and beauty/cosmetics (21%).
• That said, the event does appear to be priming (pun intended) consumers to buy at Amazon later this year: 88% of shoppers expect to shop on Amazon again in the next three months for gifts, decorations, and other items.

Black Friday in October: Amazon’s sale has driven retailers such as Best Buy, Costco, Target, Walmart to launch their own October events that, in some cases, coincide with Prime Big Deal Days.

• Consumers have taken note: 33% of Numerator respondents shopped or planned to shop Walmart Holiday Deals, and 31% shopped or planned to shop Target Circle Week.
• The majority, 55%, also compared Amazon’s prices with other merchants before clicking the buy button.

Our take: Amazon has successfully driven consumers to shop in the middle of a random week in early October. That spending could prove valuable given that there’s more uncertainty than usual this holiday season due to the shortened window between Thanksgiving and Christmas and the presidential election.

Go further: Read our US Holiday Shopping 2024 report.