Amazon said Wednesday that this year's Prime Day was its "biggest in history" as Prime members purchased more than 100 million products during this year’s event.
The Seattle giant did not provide specifics, and added it had more sign-ups for Prime on July 16 than any previous day in the company's history. Amazon uses the discount celebration to grab new members and promote its products and services.
The day was a boon for some of Amazon's own products, with some of its best-sellers being the Fire TV Stick, Echo Show and Echo Spot. Non-Amazon products also sold well including the Instant Pot multicooker and LifeStraw personal water filtration system.
Last year, Amazon said sales grew more than 60 percent during the event, breaking a record at the time and surpassing Amazon's Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales combined. The company had also added "tens of millions of Prime members" to its platform — helping it surpass 100 million people for the first time earlier this year.
When reached for further details about Amazon's sales growth this year, a spokeswoman for Amazon told CNBC the website has not "shared percentage growth this year."
It was also the first Prime Day that Amazon owned Whole Foods, which has been touting its own deals throughout the week and offered shoppers $10 to spend on Amazon if they spent $10 on groceries. At Whole Foods, the best-selling deal was organic strawberries, the company said.
Industry analysts had been anticipating Amazon could ring up at least $3.6 billion in sales globally through midnight Tuesday.
A series of glitches on Amazon's website Monday around 3 p.m. ET stalled many users from purchasing items or searching deals right away. But an early report said Prime Day sales on Amazon's third-party marketplace were up nearly 90 percent during the first 12 hours of the event from a year ago. (In 2017, Prime Day kicked off at 9 p.m. ET.)
"We know there were some disappointed customers and we regret any bad experience, even for just one customer," the Amazon spokeswoman said. "Fortunately, many Prime members were able to access our deals – that’s apparent in the numbers we’re seeing. And we have some key learnings for next year."
Amazon said late in the day Tuesday that small- and medium-sized businesses globally had already exceeded more than $1 billion in sales. (CNBC also this week reported on Amazon sellers who say they were unfairly suspended before Prime Day.)
Amazon shares hit a record high Wednesday morning, topping a market capitalization of $900 billion. Its stock had already been up about 80 percent from a year ago.
Retailers competing with Amazon have also been trying to soak up some sales this week, offering their own deals events online. Target, which had a one-day sale running on its website, said Tuesday it was the "highest single day of traffic and sales of 2018" online so far for the company.
According to Adobe Analytics, retailers with more than $1 billion in revenue saw a 54 percent increase in sales compared with an average Tuesday. The service did not say whether that increase includes Amazon. Adobe measures online transactions for 80 of the largest 100 U.S. web retailers.
Retailers with less than $5 million in revenue, though, saw online sales drop 18 percent on Prime Day.
"As a result of Amazon’s holiday increasing in popularity, numerous retailers offered deals on their own sites to combat Amazon, turning mid-July into a mini holiday shopping season. People love to comparison shop, with many turning to Amazon’s competitors to compare deals and prices. Prime Day has turned into a huge opportunity for all online retailers,” said Taylor Schreiner, director of Adobe Digital Insights.
Below is the full text of Amazon's release:
Prime Members Again Enjoyed the Biggest Global Shopping Event in Amazon History this Prime Day
Members worldwide purchased more than 100 million products during Prime Day
Members celebrated Prime Day with a week of savings at Whole Foods Market, where they saved millions of dollars -- the best-selling deal was organic strawberries
Best sellers worldwide were the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and Echo Dot -- making this, with 12-hour early access to device deals, the biggest event ever for Amazon devices SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2018--
(NASDAQ:AMZN) -- On a day (and a half) with more than one million deals worldwide offered exclusively to Prime members, sales this Prime Day surpassed Cyber Monday, Black Friday and the previous Prime Day, when comparing 36-hour periods, making this once again the biggest shopping event in Amazon history. Prime members worldwide purchased more than 100 million products during this year's Prime Day event. Best-sellers worldwide were the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote and Echo Dot -- making this, with 12-hour early access to device deals, the biggest event ever for Amazon devices. For the first time, U.S. Prime members celebrated Prime Day with a week of savings at Whole Foods Market. Members saved millions of dollars at Whole Foods Market with Prime Day deals, of which the best-selling deal was organic strawberries. Small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon far exceeded $1 billion in sales this Prime Day.
"Prime Day offers us a unique opportunity to thank Prime members with our best deals," said Jeff Wilke, CEO Worldwide Consumer, Amazon. "Extending Prime Day to a day and a half this year allowed us to further reward members with unbeatable deals, access to exclusive new products and unforgettable experiences that highlight the many benefits of a Prime membership. All of this was made possible because of our many valued associates -- the global team that continues to make Prime Day bigger and better."
Global Highlights from Prime Day 2018
-- A record number of Prime members shopped across 17 countries.
-- Amazon welcomed more new Prime members on July 16 than any previous day
in Amazon history.
-- Customers purchased millions of Fire TV devices on Amazon globally during
Prime Day.
-- Prime Day was the biggest event ever for Echo devices with screens, Echo
Show and Echo Spot.
-- Customers purchased more than five million items in each of the following
categories: Toys, Beauty products, PCs and computer accessories, Apparel
and Kitchen products.
-- Prime Day was the best event ever for Amazon devices for kids, including
Echo Dot Kids Edition, Fire 7 Kids Edition tablet and Fire HD 8 Kids
Edition tablet.
-- July 16 was the best day ever for Fire TV devices and Kindle e-readers on
Amazon globally.
-- For the first time, members in Australia, Singapore, the Netherlands and
Luxembourg participated in Prime Day.
-- Millions of customers around the world streamed Unboxing Prime Day events
including the Amazon Music concert with Ariana Grande as well as the PUBG
Squad Showdown hosted by Twitch Prime with a performance by deadmau5.
U.S. Highlights from Prime Day 2018
This Prime Day, members enjoyed access to Amazon device deals 12 hours earlier. The Toshiba 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition (50-inch) and the Toshiba 4K Ultra HD Fire TV Edition (43-inch) are now the best-selling TV deals in Amazon history -- together selling over six times as many TVs compared to last year's record-setting Fire TV Edition. Other highlights include:
-- July 17 was the biggest sales day for smart home devices in Amazon
history, with over a million devices sold.
-- Ring had its biggest day ever on Amazon on July 16, with the Ring Video
Doorbell Pro selling out.
-- The Amazon Cloud Cam was the best-selling security camera deal in Amazon
history.
-- For the first time, U.S. Prime members celebrated Prime Day with a week
of savings at Whole Foods Market. Members saved millions of dollars at
Whole Foods Market with Prime Day deals, of which the best-selling deal
was organic strawberries.
-- Members purchased more than 300,000 Instant Pot 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi Use and
150,000 LifeStraw Personal Water Filters.
-- Members stocked up for back-to-school and off-to-college season,
purchasing millions of pencils and pens.
-- Some of the top sellers from Amazon brands, by category, were Stone &
Beam Ceramic Geometric Table Lamp; Presto! Ultra Soft Toilet Paper; Daily
Ritual Women's Jersey Short-Sleeve V-Neck T-Shirt Dress and AmazonBasics
Pre-Seasoned Cast Iron Skillet.
Prime Day Best Sellers by Country
Customers' most popular purchase this Prime Day was the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, which was not only the best-selling Amazon device, but also the best-selling product from any manufacturer in any category across Amazon globally. Top sellers from around the world, excluding Amazon devices, include:
-- U.S.: Instant Pot 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi Use; 23 and Me DNA Test; LifeStraw
Personal Water Filter
-- U.K.: Bosch Cordless Drill; Philips Hue Personal Wireless Lighting Light
strip; Finish Dishwasher Tablets
-- Spain: SanDisk Ultra 64GB memory card; Cecotec Conga Excellence 990 4 in
1 iTech 3.0 robot vacuum cleaner
-- Singapore: Coca-Cola Zero Sugar; Play-Doh Shape and Learn Shape a Story;
Kleenex Ultra Soft Toilet Tissue
-- Netherlands: Osmart Zigbee Smart Plug; Philips Hue White Ambiance GU10
LED Spot; Sandisk Micro SD
-- Mexico: Ace Powder Laundry Detergent; Amazon Basics USB Lightning Cable
-- Luxembourg: Jamie Oliver Tefal pan; Brita water filter; Solar-lamp in
Preserve Jar with USB connector
-- Japan: Top Super Nanox Liquid Laundry Detergent + Extra Large Refill,
SAVAS Whey Protein 100 cocoa flavor 1050g
-- Italy: Finish Dishwasher Tabs All in 1 Max; Braun Multi-grooming Kit
Precision Trimmer 9-in-1 for beard Styling; Hoover Rechargeable Broom
2-in-1 Freedom
-- India: Redmi Y2 Gold 32 GB smartphone; Tata salt; Mi 10000mAH Li Polymer
Power Bank 2i
-- Germany and Austria: PlayStation Plus Membership; Jamie Oliver Pan by
Tefal; Osmart Zigbee Smart Plug
-- France: PlayStation Plus Membership; SanDisk Ultra 64GB memory card, TP
Link Wi-Fi connected plug
-- China: Philips Sonicare Healthy White HX6730 Toothbrush; Braun Digital
Ear Thermometer; Paul & Joe Beaute Moisturizing Foundation
-- Canada: Instant Pot 6 Qt 7-in-1 Multi Use; LifeStraw Personal Water
Filter; Bose QuietComfort Noise Cancelling Headphones
-- Belgium: SanDisk Ultra 128GB memory card; Osmart Zigbee Smart Plug;
Philips Hue lightbulbs
-- Australia: PlayStation 4 Pro 1TB Console with Bonus Fortnite Content;
FIFA 18 for PlayStation 4; Philips Hue lightbulbs
Unboxing Unique Experiences Around the Globe
In the week leading up to Prime Day 2018, millions of customers streamed the Unboxing Prime Day events. Amazon Music hosted an exclusive concert featuring Ariana Grande, Alessia Cara, Julia Michaels and Kelsea Ballerini in New York, Twitch Prime invited deadmau5 to take on the world's top gamers in a PUBG Squad Showdown in Los Angeles and customers in London, Tokyo and Milan were able to join in the live celebration with a number of unique experiences. Watch event highlights here.
Spotlighting Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Small and medium-sized businesses selling on Amazon far exceeded $1 billion in sales this Prime Day. Products from these unique sellers increase variety, selection, and contribute to the ever-expanding inventory available to Prime members worldwide.
Feedback from small businesses includes:
"Prime Day 2018 has exceeded our expectations -- sales are up more than 400 percent over a typical day. We're excited to leverage the momentum as we move into the second half of 2018," said Caron Proschan, Simply Gum.
"Prime Day was the biggest single sales day of the year. We sold 10 times as many items as we sell on a regular day," said Chris Guiher, Vintage Book Art Co.
"Prime Day has been our most successful day ever when launching new products. We released 10 new items, and all 10 are up more than 300 percent over our previous launches," said Brandon Straub, Tegu.
"Prime Day has more than exceeded our best expectations. We've sold more Bakblade 2.0's than ever and sales are up 10 times a regular day," said Matt Dryfhout, Bakblade.
Every Day Made Better with Prime
Prime was designed to make your life better every single day. Over 100 million paid members around the world enjoy the many benefits of Prime, including shopping and entertainment. In the U.S. that includes unlimited access to award- winning movies and TV episodes with Prime Video; unlimited access to Prime Music, Audible Channels for Prime, Prime Reading, Prime Photos, Twitch Prime; early access to select Lightning Deals, one free pre-released book a month with Amazon First Reads, and more. Prime members can also get deep discounts on select popular products at Whole Foods Market plus an additional 10 percent off hundreds of sale items. Prime was built on the foundation of unlimited fast, free shipping and members receive Prime FREE One-Day Shipping and Prime FREE Same-Day Delivery in more than 8,000 cities and towns, two-hour delivery with Prime Now in more than 30 major cities and unlimited Free Two-Day Shipping on more than 100 million items. Start a free trial of Amazon Prime at amazon.com/prime.
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