Amazon Prime Day promises to be different in 2020 amid the backdrop of a pandemic, major shifts in consumer spending patterns, and a later-than-usual event timing.

Business Insider Intelligence research analyst Daniel Keyes and eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Andrew Lipsman discuss how Amazon's Prime Day went and what to expect from holiday shopping this season. They then talk about miniature Ulta Beauty shops inside Target stores, the health of retail in 2021, and whether in-garage delivery can rival curbside pickup.

Business Insider Intelligence research analyst Daniel Keyes, eMarketer principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu try their hands at playing a special, Amazon-themed game of "What's the Point?" where they discuss how the US House antitrust report affects Amazon, luxury brands on the platform, palm-print payment, all the new details about Prime Day 2020, and more.

Amazon Prime Day 2020 will be unlike any other since its debut five years ago. Amid the backdrop of a pandemic and recessionary headwinds, this year’s event promises significant changes that will shake up the entire retail landscape heading into the holidays.

The pandemic has had all kinds of effects on consumers, and in turn, on how they interact with products and services. eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin speaks with fellow principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom about what happens when business metrics go haywire, including at Walmart, Nike, and Peloton. They also talk about Facebook's narrowing attribution window, Prime Day finally happening, and Samsung Ads' new self-serve demand-side platform option.

In our first ever forecast for Prime Day, we expect that Amazon will generate $9.91 billion in worldwide sales, including $6.17 billion in the US.

Prime Day timing. Only Amazon gets to decide when Prime Day will be in 2021. Whether it reverts to its previous mid-July timing or sticks with mid-October dates has huge implications for holiday shopping. Retailers planning to counterprogram with their own promotions should develop marketing and messaging plans for both possibilities.

The “Black Friday in July,” aka Amazon Prime Day, was pushed back this year to October 13–14, moving the event much closer to the traditional holiday shopping period. We expect global Prime Day retail ecommerce sales to have hit £7.76 billion ($9.91 billion) in 2020, with non-US ecommerce sales accounting for £2.93 billion ($3.74 billion).

"Amazon's huge topline performance in Q4—bolstered by Prime Day in October, a massive holiday ecommerce season, and surprising international strength—may obscure the more important story of Amazon's surging ad business.

Amazon Prime Day moving to mid-October was a big driver of an earlier kickoff to the holiday season. With Prime Day’s proximity to the holidays, and the corresponding counterprogramming from competing retailers, consumers began making holiday purchases earlier than they did in the past. And that momentum continued into early November, as retailers ran promotions earlier and more often.

eMarketer research analyst Daniel Keyes, principal analyst Andrew Lipsman and senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Cindy Liu discuss the emergent category of "luxury fitness" created by Nike, Peloton, lululemon and Apple. They then talk about Walmart's Prime competitor, Prime Day in the Fall and Amazon's Dash Cart.

The “Black Friday in July,” aka Amazon Prime Day, was pushed back this year to October 13–14, moving the event much closer to the traditional holiday shopping period. We expect global Prime Day retail ecommerce sales to have hit £7.76 billion ($9.91 billion) in 2020, with non-US ecommerce sales accounting for £2.93 billion ($3.74 billion).

This follow-up to our Amazon Prime Day 2019 preview report analyzes the post-event results for Amazon and other retailers, and its implications for back-to-school season and beyond.

Amazon Prime Day has emerged as a massive midsummer shopping event that drives incremental shopping at Amazon and competing retailers while serving as the unofficial lead-in to the back-to-school shopping season.

His latest reports and analysis have covered Amazon Prime Day, mobile retail apps, and holiday shopping. Jack Koch is global head of marketing sciences at Reddit. Jack and his team analyze and surface the billions of posts, comments, and upvotes that happen on Reddit every day in order to provide business critical learnings that help brands make smarter business decisions.

In most years, that doesn’t occur until Thanksgiving—but Prime Day is a big enough event to open the floodgates. Prime Day counterprogramming from Target (“Deal Days” on October 13 and 14), Walmart (“Big Save Event” during October 11–15), and others coalesced enough activity around this tentpole to get shoppers off the sidelines.

Prime Day timing. Only Amazon gets to decide when Prime Day will fall in 2021. Whether it reverts to its previous mid-July timing or sticks with its mid-October timing has huge implications for holiday shopping. Retailers planning to counterprogram with their own promotions should develop marketing and messaging plans for both possibilities.