Prime Day has grown into one of Amazon’s biggest sales events. But the numbers the sale turns in these days make the early experiments look downright puny.
Last year’s Prime Day saw 375 million items sold, per Amazon, and Adobe estimated sales came in close to $13 billion in the U.S. alone. That’s even more impressive when you consider that the initial Prime Day sold just 34.4 million items, but was still considered an overwhelming success.
So as you prepare to start either your early holiday shopping or grab yourself a few summer essentials, here’s a look back at how Prime Day has done though the years.
Prime Day 2015
Shoppers bought 34.4 million items on the one-day inaugural event, breaking Black Friday sales records. And analysts estimated it brought in $415 million. The event was marred somewhat, however, by people complaining on social media that they experienced technical problems when checking out.
“Going into this, we weren’t sure whether Prime Day would be a one-time thing or if it would become an annual event. After yesterday’s results, we’ll definitely be doing this again,” said Greg Greeley, Vice President of Amazon Prime.
Prime Day 2016
If the first Prime Day was a hit, the second was a phenomenon, dubbed the company’s “biggest sales day ever” at the time. Sales hit an estimated $525 million. And Amazon said customer orders surpassed Prime Day 2015 by more than 60% worldwide and more than 50% in the United States. Orders to third-party sellers tripled year-over-year, the company said.
Prime Day 2017
Prime Day became more than a daylong event this year, with Amazon stretching the sale to 30 hours, resulting in yet another sales record. This was the first year the company was thought to clear $1 billion in sales. Amazon, as usual, didn’t give any hard numbers on subscriptions, but said more new members joined the premium program on Tuesday than any single day in the company’s history.
Prime Day 2018
2018 saw Prime Day extend to 36 hours and add several more markets, including Australia, Singapore, Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The sale set another record and saw shoppers buying more than 300,000 Instant Pots and over 100 million items overall. This was the year Prime Day really took off, with sales topping an estimated $4 billion.
Prime Day 2019
Encouraged by the success of 2018, Amazon made Prime Day a two-day event in 2019, which it has continued to do ever since. The strategy worked, with people buying 175 million items. Analysts estimated at the time that the company had recorded sales of more than $6 billion during the event.
Prime Day 2020
In the heart of the pandemic, consumers were itching for something new in their lives—and Amazon’s Prime Day gave them the opportunity to buy lots of new things. And, boy, did they respond. Sales were up 36% compared to the year before. Analysts projected total sales would hit $6.17 billion in the United States, and almost $10 billion including other markets.
Amazon, as always, didn’t confirm those, but did disclose that third-party businesses sold $3.5 billion worth of goods that year.
Prime Day 2021
With inflation raging, Amazon held a pair of Prime Day sales in 2021 (though only the summer event kept the Prime Day name). That summer event brought in an estimated $6.8 billion in revenue.
Prime Day 2022
More than 300 million items were sold during the two-day 2022 sales event. Adobe estimated day one overall sales of more than $6 billion and day two sales of $5.9 billion as consumers looked for deals amid still roaring inflation and the upcoming back-to-school season.
Prime Day 2023
Despite fears of a recession, shoppers bought 375 million items last year, spending an estimated $12.7 billion in the U.S. alone. A growing number of consumers also took advantage of Amazon’s version of layaway, called “Buy Now Pay Later. That option accounted for 6.6% of orders on one of the sales days, a 21% jump over the previous year, said Adobe.
Prime Day 2024
Adobe is forecasting Amazon will take in $14 billion this year, a 9.2% increase year over year. Electronics, the company says, will be the biggest deals, with discounts of 22%. Apparel, home/furniture and televisions will also cost less than a year ago.
