Amazon Prime Day 2022 was the biggest Prime Day event on record, with customers purchasing over 100,000 items per minute from July 12-13. Small and medium-sized businesses, in particular, won big, racking up over $3 billion in sales.
In an unprecedented move, Amazon then followed up its summer shopping extravaganza with a new e-commerce event: the Prime Early Access Sale. From October 11-12, Amazon invited Prime members to start their holiday shopping early with exclusive deals, discounts, and gift guides. The result was over 100 million items sold.
While we made our own data-backed predictions about what Amazon Prime Day 2022 had in store for publishers and retailers, it’s time to compare what we expected to happen with what really happened.
Why?
Since Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, Amazon Prime Day and the Prime Early Access Sale are basically litmus tests of consumer trends and best practices. Both events can serve as prime (pun intended) examples of which products and content categories companies should promote not just on Amazon but across their own properties.
Especially in the midst of a global pandemic and potential recession — with inflation reaching historic highs — customers will be prioritizing certain purchases and seeking out deals. And, with the holidays approaching, brands and publishers should be ready to meet them with the right content and campaigns.
To help, let’s take a look at our Amazon Prime Day 2022 predictions and the final results — including the top articles, products, and countries driving engagement.
What We Predicted for July: Tech & Home Goods Sales, and the Rise of Anti-Prime Day
We predicted that technology, home goods, and fashion products would sell big on Amazon Prime Day 2022.
According to US Taboola data, content about Amazon tech deals — and particularly Apple products — saw a 773% jump in traffic in June 2021. Meanwhile, content about Amazon home products saw a 224% bump in traffic before Prime Day last year, racking up a total of 2 million pageviews in 30 days.
That’s why publishers like CBS News were focused on launching articles about relevant tech deals:
We also predicted that customers would be seeking anti-Prime Day deals — meaning, from brands that don’t sell their products on Amazon. Because, while people are eager for sales, they might not want to support Amazon, which has come under scrutiny for poor labor practices and hiking membership prices.
As Statista reported, 26% of US Amazon Prime Day shoppers in 2021 started searching for deals on Amazon but ended up purchasing from another brand.
What Actually Happened in July: Top Amazon Prime Day Products, Articles, and Countries
To see how Amazon Prime Day 2022 played out, Skimlinks looked at data for Amazon Prime Day sales and alternatives across the top products, articles, and countries.
The top products engaged with across content from July 12-13 fell directly into the tech and home goods categories, as predicted. Top tech products included the HP 14″ FHD, Lenovo Ideapad 3, and Acer 3. And top home goods products included the Always Pan, iRobot Roomba I3+, The Varick sectional, and Dyson V8 Absolute vacuum.
The top five countries included:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Philippines
- Netherlands
Among the top articles with the term “Amazon Prime Day,” almost all included alternative deals from other retailers, with titles like:
- “The Best Prime Day Competitor Sales to Shop Right Now“
- “Here Are the Best Alternative Sales to Amazon Prime Day“
- “All of the Best Non–Amazon Prime Day Sales (So Far)“
Anti-Prime Day articles also spotlighted Amazon competitors and major retailers like Walmart, Nordstrom, and Bed Bath & Beyond, who were taking advantage of the e-commerce frenzy with their own sales on fashion, tech, and home essentials.
While top articles also featured plenty of tech and home goods products, they also included products in other categories like travel and outdoor gear, likely reaching customers who were planning summer adventures and getaways.
Gear Patrol, for example, highlighted Prime Day deals on coolers, picket knives, lanterns, and luggage. And I’m Bringing Blogging Back published a whole article about sales on YETI coolers, tumblers, and ramblers for Labor Day.
What Actually Happened in October: Top Prime Early Access Sale Products, Articles, and Countries
Now let’s see how the Amazon Prime Early Access Sale unfolded across top products, countries, and content in October.
To start, the products consumers engaged with most fell into the home goods and tech categories. Notable home goods products included the Frigidaire Air Sous Vide air fryer and double-electric wall oven and Shark Pet Pro Cordless Stick Vacuum. Meanwhile top tech products included the Apple TV HD 32GB and Dell XPS 15 Laptop. Amazon Prime members also found deals on sex toys, such as the New PinkCherry Rose Vibrator and, for a festive twist, the Lovehoney X Womanizer Couple’s Sex Toy Advent Calendar.
The top five countries that benefited from the Prime Early Access Sale included:
- United States
- United Kingdom
- Canada
- Philippines
- Netherlands
Top articles about Amazon’s October Prime sale had a couple notable things in common:
- They referenced Black Friday, with titles like “Prime Day deals that rival Black Friday: The 40+ very best sales to shop (before they’re over).” As the holidays approach, publishers and brands have been looking to get ahead of the “Cyber Five” weekend and start driving purchases early.
- They mentioned alternative retailers with titles like “Here Are the Best Alternative Sales to Amazon’s Prime Early Access Sale” and “Best sales you can shop ahead of Black Friday 2022 at Walmart, Target and more.” Just as we saw in July, customers were looking for anti-Prime Day deals from competitors.
Of course, top articles also spotlighted sales on tech and home goods products. Apartment Therapy, for example, listed 14 sofa sales from retailers like Wayfair and Overstock. Serious Eats gathered its editor’s picks for kitchen appliances. And home design blog The Spruce helped readers save on tech products from major brands like Apple and LG.
The Takeaways: Stay Focused on Tech and Home Goods Sales
This fall, shoppers are looking to equip their homes with new kitchen essentials, appliances, vacuums, and furniture. Meanwhile they’re also seeking deals on tech products from a range of brands, including Apple, Dell, and LG. .
That means, going forward, publishers should continue to create content around these industries, and advertisers should continue to offer deals on these products throughout the holiday season. You don’t just have to focus on using Amazon’s e-commerce platform, either. The data shows that shoppers are eager for anti-Prime promotions that they can redeem outside of Amazon or directly from retailers’ websites.
So, while Prime Day may be over, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the whole 2022 holiday shopping season are on the horizon. And you can use these valuable insights to better understand what customers want and build ads that drive results. Also, check out our 2022 holiday advertiser data and top-performing creative strategies for more tips on how to optimize your seasonal campaigns.