It’s been six years since Amazon’s inaugural Prime Day, and since then, the sales bonanza has evolved from the unofficial kickoff of back-to-school shopping into an event other major retailers try to emulate—so much so that the ecommerce giant has tried to obfuscate when the annual sales day will occur.

As Amazon raked in more than $11 billion in Prime Day sales worldwide, health and beauty product sales boomed on the platform. In a survey conducted by Numerator throughout the event, 28.0% of US Prime Day buyers said they made a purchase in that category. Consumer electronics also made a spark: 27.5% of respondents reported buying tech gear and gadgets.

Adobe Analytics estimates that total US ecommerce sales on Prime Day surpassed $11 billion, and Amazon said that its global customers bought more than 250 million items during the coveted two-day shopping event.

It’s Prime Day in June. Amazon traditionally held Prime Day in mid-July but pushed the event to October last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (The exception was India, where it took place in August 2020.) This year, Amazon will hold Prime Day on June 21–22.

Shortly after Amazon confirmed Prime Day for June 21 and 22, both retailers introduced coinciding sales events as competition continues heating up in the retail space.

Prime Day sales will surpass $10 billion

Amazon, in comparison, said it sold about 250 million items worldwide over the full two-day period of Prime Day 2021. A growing internet population drives demand.

How we got here: The AGCM found that sellers had to use Amazon's Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) logistics service over others if they wanted access to key benefits like the Prime label, which enables them to participate in Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Prime Day sales events, per Engadget.

Last month, Amazon held its fifth annual Prime Day event to honor its Prime members with steep discounts and deals across a range of products and categories. This year’s midsummer shopping event—extended to 48 hours and held on July 15 and 16—racked up record sales, further cementing Amazon’s ecommerce leadership position, while creating incremental opportunities for sellers and competing retailers.

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.

Amazon announces “Black Friday-worthy” deals are starting earlier than ever: Following Prime Day 2020's success as a preamble to the holiday season, Amazon is rolling out discounts early—and competitors are following suit.

Amazon’s flagship sales event is reportedly scheduled for June despite historically taking place in July—and being delayed to October in 2020—in a bid to maximize the event’s performance.

Retail ecommerce sales at Amazon have been increasing at rapid speed since the beginning of the pandemic, including a 40% increase in net sales in Q2 2020. With Prime Day shifted into Q2 this year, we don’t expect Amazon to have any trouble lapping that success. Continued robust growth in ad revenues.

And Prime Day 2021 shifted away from the holiday season to coincide with the return of back-to-school shopping. So, without the Prime Day boost in sales, what can brands and retailers on Amazon expect for holiday 2021? eMarketer was pleased to moderate a Tech-Talk Webinar featuring Feedvisor’s Dani Nadel, president and chief operating officer, and Andrew Altersohn, general manager, enterprise brands.