You’ve definitely heard of Amazon Prime Day even if you’ve never bought something during the event.It’s nearly impossible to avoid: Leading up to the Prime member-exclusive sale, there are commercials about it on YouTube, influencers posting about it on social media, flashy billboards advertising it in Times Square and media outlets (like NBC Selected) telling you everything you need to know about it.
At this point, Prime Day is fully embedded in consumer culture — that’s especially impressive considering it’s only been around for about a decade, and it’s not tied to the winter holiday shopping season like Black Friday and Cyber Monday are.Ever since its inception, Amazon has scaled Prime Day to record-breaking heights.The event generates billions of dollars in global sales and drives up e-commerce activity across retailers.
This year, Prime Day made already made history as Amazon’s most profitable sale ever, even though the retailer made major changes to its format.And with Prime Big Deal Days, a.k.a.
October Prime Day, coming up on Oct.6, the retailer has another chance to impress shoppers with discounts and blow performance expectations out of the water.To contextualize Prime Day and its impact on e-commerce, I charted its history over the past 11 years.
I also consulted experts about its growth, what it signals about consumer behavior and whether deals are actually worth buying.RelatedselectedselectedEarly October Prime Day deals are live, and I found 53+ worth shopping from Shark, Lego, iRobot, Ugg and moreWant more from NBC Selected? Sign up for our newsletter, The Selection, and shop smarter.How did Prime Day start?The first-ever Prime Day took place on July 15, 2015 to celebrate the company’s 20th anniversary, according to Amazon.It lasted 24 hours and was available to members in nine countries.
Since 2015, Prime Day has expanded its reach — Amazon now hosts the sale for four days in over 20 countries, and it runs a second version o...