During last week’s Prime Early Access Sale, households spent about 40% less than Amazon’s Prime Day event in July, noted data analysis from Klover.

• The average household spend was approximately $110.45, per Numerator.
• Spend per order was also down, said Numerator: $46.68 during last week’s event versus $60.29 in July.
• “This Prime Day seemed to be mostly just another day on Amazon,” Klover CEO Brian Mandelbaum told The Wall Street Journal.
• The event didn’t garner as much buzz on social media either. In the week after the event was announced, the Prime Early Access Sale was mentioned 90% less than the summer event on Twitter, according to Sprout Social.
• Bank of America analyst Justin Post estimated that the two-day event brought in $8 billion in gross merchandise value, down 25% from July.

Not all was down: Though spend was down, there were some bright spots for the event.

• Amazon reported the best-selling categories were apparel, home, toys, and Amazon devices.
• The top five items purchased were Amazon Gift Cards, Amazon Photos Projects, Melissa & Doug branded toys, apparel from Simple Joys by Carter, and third-generation Echo Dot devices.
• Third-party sellers made out well; Prime members ordered more than 100 million items from Amazon’s selling partners.

A head start: The holiday shopping season is starting earlier than ever this year as consumers search for the right gifts at the right price.

• Nearly 30% of Prime Day shoppers used the event to purchase holiday gifts. Of those, 69% said they completed less than half of their holiday shopping. Almost all (95%) said they’re likely to shop for holiday items on Amazon again in the next three months.
• In addition to getting ahead on presents, consumers stocked up on holiday-related items like wreaths, garlands, decorative lights, and Halloween costumes.

Bargain hunting: Nearly 80% of Early Access shoppers said that inflation impacted their choices.

• 29% reported waiting for the sale to purchase a specific item at a discounted price, while 26% passed up a good deal because it wasn’t a necessity.
• Over 1 in 10 (13%) shoppers looked at prices outside of Amazon before deciding to purchase.

A rising tide: Amazon wasn’t the only one to benefit from an early start to the shopping season.

• 43% of Prime Early Access shoppers also browsed other holiday sales.
• Over a quarter shopped Target’s Deal Days event (which took place earlier this month), while 24% gave Walmart’s concurrent Rollbacks and More event a try.

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