Find out how Skimlinks, a Taboola company, can help with your affiliate marketing strategy. Learn more here.
Now that Amazon Prime Day is safely in the e-commerce rearview mirror, it’s time to break down what happened. Each year we find ourselves noting that ‘this year’ was the online giant’s best year yet, and, well, you guessed it – 2023 broke all the previous records.
During the two-day shopping frenzy, consumers worldwide spent $12.9 billion, a 6.7% increase compared to 2022. Amazon data shows that while consumers purchased more than ever – over 375 million products – deep discounts helped them save more than $2.5 billion.
In a Numerator survey, 54% of shoppers compared Prime Day sale prices to offers from other popular retailers who piggyback on Amazon’s event such as Walmart+ Week, Target Circle Week and Best Buy Black Friday in July. This shows that consumers won’t stop spending even in the face of persistently high inflation. They will, however, prioritize price over loyalty if a better deal is available. This big-picture data gives you insights into the consumer mindset and offers a logical reason why people click the Buy Now button on one site over another.
(Source)
To flourish in e-commerce, publishers and advertisers must also know which products people want and what buying trends are emerging. When you combine both pieces of the puzzle, you set yourself up for success. You can create content and campaigns that resonate with consumers, driving engagement and sales.
The mindsets and trends we saw during Prime Day will likely remain consistent for the next few months, leading us right into the beginning of the biggest shopping season: the winter holidays. To help you prepare for the year’s second half, let’s look at our Prime Day 2023 predictions and compare those to Skimlinks data, which shows the products, articles and merchants that generated the most revenue on Amazon’s platform and popular competitors.
Amazon Prime Day Predictions: The Halo Effect, Home Goods and Tech
Amazon Prime Day is a major e-commerce event. It’s tempting to believe Prime Day’s lucrative earning potential is exclusive to Amazon merchants, but the halo effect has debunked that myth. It’s when retailers that aren’t on Amazon run their own sales and promotions on or around Prime Day, luring consumers who are already in deal-hunting mode.
In 2022, during the two weeks surrounding Prime Day, Target, Costco and Best Buy all saw significant traffic increases, 42.3%, 24.6%, and 85%, respectively. Knowing that, we predicted the halo effect would emerge again this year, so we advised publishers to take a two-pronged approach: produce content and guides that highlight the best Amazon deals and special offers from alternative retailers. That suggested strategy would help publishers make the most of their affiliate partnerships.
We also predicted that two verticals – home goods and technology – would reign supreme in July. The pandemic fundamentally changed our relationship with our homes, and even though life is back to normal, this shift seems poised to stay for the long term. Home goods has been a top category for every major holiday sale. Although we know the most bought items change with the season, we consistently see appliances, mattresses, furniture, and décor landing a spot on our most purchased lists.
Tech is also a top vertical throughout the year but enjoys a nice bump during these summer sales. It’s a bit early for most consumers to start their Christmas purchasing, but many are looking to pick up Prime Day deals on back-to-school items like Apple devices and laptops their kids will need. In previous years, we’ve also seen plenty of great promotions for items that span the tech and home goods categories – think smart home devices like Google Nest products, new TVs and more. With that in mind, we suggested publishers and advertisers prioritize these types of products.
Reality Check: Which Articles, Products and Merchants Won Prime Day
Now, let’s see how accurate our predictions were by looking at Skimlink’s data from Amazon Prime Day Sales and those offered by competing merchants.
Articles and Guides and Deal Roundups, Oh My!
First, let’s see which articles drove the most purchases. Across the Taboola network, ‘Amazon Prime Day’ page views rose significantly. Generally speaking, the articles that brought in the most sales on the Skimlinks network were roundups with carefully selected on-sale products organized by retailer or vertical. Unsurprisingly, most of the top-performing articles had one thing in common – the URLs and titles, like this one, all included those three magic words: Amazon Prime Day:
(Source)
Some articles also specifically referenced deals at Walmart and Target:
(Source)
The Verdict: Our prediction about the halo effect continuing into this year was spot on. Publishers who followed our recommended strategy and created content about deals on Amazon and alternative retailers saw a boost in revenue. Similarly, advertisers and brands that rode the Pride Day wave with their own competing offers attracted more traffic and increased sales.
The Products on Everyone’s Wishlist
Summer lovin’ took on a new meaning during Prime Day. A handful of the most purchased items fell into the sex toy category. We usually see a spike in sex toy purchases around Valentine’s Day for obvious reasons, but a good deal is a good deal, no matter the season. Consumers proved just that by adding a variety of toys to their carts.
Other best sellers were more conventional products. The top most popular products were peppered with many items from the home goods vertical. They ranged from cleaning products like Shark and Bissell vacuums to kitchen gear, including a Sur La Table Dutch Oven, a Cosori air fryer, and a Cuisinart hand blender. The summer heat wave drove some consumers to snap up deals on fans and air purifiers.; others wanted to enjoy the weather from the comfort of new outdoor furniture.
Tech deals, as usual, also proved irresistible. Deep discounts on laptops, Bose Speakers, high-end TVs, and Tile Bluetooth trackers pushed these products into top sellers.
(Source)
Finally, and mainly due to Nordstrom’s well-timed Anniversary Sale, clothing and beauty items rounded out Skimlink’s most purchased items list. Top beauty brands, including Kiehl’s, Charlotte Tilbury, Oribe, and Bobbi Brown, and apparel from Hoka, AllSaints, and Sam Edelman, performed exceptionally well.
(Source)
The Verdict: Let’s call it a draw. Our home goods and technology predictions were accurate, but we were surprised to see sex toys make the cut. The key takeaway here is that consumers are looking for ‘too good to pass up’ deals. That means publishers should consider including a few unconventional products in their deal-buying guides, and advertisers should take the opportunity to launch new native advertising campaigns, no matter what vertical they are in.
Merchants Who Made the Most of Prime Day
Naturally, many of the merchants that made Skimlink’s list sell their products on multiple platforms – Amazon, competitor marketplaces and their own websites. For example, Lovehoney, Dyson, Bose, Tile, and Wyze products can be purchased on Amazon, Walmart, Target, and Best Buy.
Walmart, Nordstrom, and Nordstrom Rack also made it onto the list, as did brands like Avocado Mattress, Sephora, Old Navy, and The Container Store. All those merchants and others that rounded out the top sellers list aligned with what we’ve seen in the top product categories and articles.
The Verdict: While we didn’t make specific predictions about top merchants, those publishers and advertisers that followed our suggestions to include Amazon adjacent retailers and promote tech and home goods deals should have fared well during the broader Prime Day shopping extravaganza.
Prepping for A Profitable Q3 & Q4
It’s the middle of summer, and ongoing heatwaves make it hard to realize that back-to-school sales and Christmas are quickly approaching. Consumers looking to get an early jump on these shopping holidays are already scouring the sites for deals.
The same trends we saw during Prime Day will stick around for the rest of the year. We predict consumers will still shop for home goods, tech, apparel and beauty products. They’ll be looking for recognizable brand names and great deals. Of course, new products will be in demand as we inch closer to the end of the year, but at least you can start getting ready based on what you now know. Then all you’ll need to do is fill in any gaps, adjust messaging, and optimize along the way.
Publishers should focus on generating valuable content packed with deals for in-demand products within the mentioned verticals. Advertiser campaigns should clearly call out deals and limited-time offers in headlines and landing pages to capture attention and early sales. Brands can look to expand their footprints now and get their products on Amazon and competing retailer sites or open their own digital storefront to sell directly to consumers. As we’ve seen, placing products on different sites presents more selling opportunities and a wider audience.
Although Prime Day has come and gone, the year’s biggest shopping days lie ahead. Combine the information we’ve shared here with the data-backed creative insights you can find in Taboola Trends, and you’ll be well on your way to seeing tangible results and increasing your revenue!