5 Fast Facts: recapping Amazon Prime Day 2022

Amazon Prime Day 2022 saw an impressive 168% sales growth. Taking place over July 12th and 13th this year, we saw performance similar to 2019 pre-pandemic times. And while continued inflationary pressures are unlikely to subside any time soon with advertisers having to be flexible to keep customers interested, they can expect to see sales continue to scale into the remainder of the year. 

So how exactly did Prime Day perform this year? We’ve got five fast facts to recap this year’s Prime Day, analyzing advertising traffic, ad performance, and consumer behavior to bring you actionable insights. And this year, for the first time ever, we are ecstatic to include highly refined data — at an hourly level – thanks to the Amazon Marketing Stream.

Want to learn more about the power of hourly data? Check out our complete guide to intraday optimization here.

1. Ad Sales are up 168%

2022’s increase in sales was an astounding 191% on Day 1, nearly three times the normal level. The increases in sales, ad spend, and impressions indicated positive growth, with Day 1 showing stronger performance than Day 2, similar to past Prime Days like 2021, 2020, and 2019. This could be an indication that consumers were excited to take advantage of freshly released deals, shopping less on Day 2 possibly adding things they may have forgotten the previous day, highlighting the attractiveness of Lightning Deals that only last four hours. 

Although Day 2’s performance was relatively subpar in comparison to Day 1 as expected, with the overall Prime Day 2022 sales growth being an impressive +168% – a big win for advertisers. And with 2022’s overall Prime Day sales growth exceeding the three consecutive preceding years’ sales growth, Prime Day continues to offer tremendous value for both sellers and customers alike.

Here, as is the case throughout our analysis, we examine metrics attributed to: Sponsored Products (SP), Sponsored Brands (SB), and Sponsored Display (SD) ads, unless otherwise stated.

* Baseline: compared to the daily average of the 2 weeks period leading up to Prime Day

Key Takeaway: Amazon Prime Day 2022 was a definite hit with shoppers, who flocked to the platform in great numbers on the first day, driving up impressions and ad spend. Advertisers enjoyed strong initial sales despite it not quite keeping the pace on the second day. Getting in on deals as soon as they become available is a consumer behavior that advertisers should take note of, perhaps considering launching their better-performing products on Day 1 followed by those that have room for growth on day 2, with day 2 products featured as Prime Day deals or simply ramping up their advertising as regular-priced products.

2. Prime Day Shoppers Quick to Buy as Conversion Rate increases 7%

Increased traffic flocking to Amazon over Prime Day resulted in higher than normal cost-per-click (CPC), with 37% above average on Day 1 and 44% above average on Day 2, consistent with previous years’. However, click-through rates (CTR) were down (27% on Day 1 and 19% on Day 2), which could partly be a result of the sheer increased number of ads served and partly because shoppers were running more searches to find the deals they were looking for. 

On the other hand, conversion rates (CVR) were up 4% on Day 1 and still 9% above average on Day 2, showing the significance of Prime Day on shopping behavior – once a shopper clicked an ad, they were more motivated to complete a purchase on Prime Day than on other days throughout the year. In line with higher CPCs, ACOS was higher than average on both days, 1% on Day 1 and 8% on Day 2, bringing a lower return-on-ad-spend (ROAS). This competitive environment for sellers indicated by higher CPCs and ACOS was likely due to the combination of digital ad space having been more expensive and consumers not spending as much as they usually may have, both due to inflation.

* Baseline: compared to the daily average of the 2 weeks period leading up to Prime Day

3. Hourly Data Shows Sales Peak on First Morning of Prime Day

2022 is the first year we are able to bring you hourly insights into how advertising performance fared over the 48-hour Prime Day. Thanks to data available via Amazon Marketing Stream, we are now able to provide aggregated Sponsored Products campaign data for every single hour of Prime Day. The heatmap shows how CPC, sales, and advertising cost of sales (ACOS) changed hour by hour over the course of Prime Day.

A few points on this hourly data:

• Exclusively reports on Sponsored Products performance and is based on a subset of available campaign data, so there is no direct correspondence to the overall key performance indicators (KPIs) analyzed in this article

• The percentage increase and decrease in sales values are compared to the baseline of the median hourly sales rate over Prime Day

We have omitted sales and ACOS values for those hours where the overall number of conversions is insufficient to provide reliable metrics (11 pm to 2 am).

Amazon Prime Day is known for increases in CPC (2021 saw +13% and +16% CPC growth on Day 1 and 2 respectively), but hourly data revealed a much more nuanced story. Where the average CPC during Prime Day 2022 was 40% above normal rates, the most expensive clicks were concentrated in the morning hours. This meant that advertisers who continued to invest budget into the evenings were able to benefit from lower costs.

This advantage is also reflected in the hourly ACOS data. The most profitable period saw ACOS as low as 25%, all during 7 am to 9 am PST on Day 1, but efficiency remained relatively high until as late in the day as 8 pm (the last hour was 7 - 8 pm). The highest ACOS was still no more than 29% indicated by the performance between the hours of 6 - 7 pm, which was equivalent to a ROAS of $3.45. ACOS on Day 2 followed a similar pattern, though overall advertising efficiency was down, which was mainly due to lower CVR. On the whole, median ACOS on Day 2 was 36%, four percentage points higher than that of Day 1.

In terms of attributed sales volume, the peak period came between 7 am to 1 pm on Day 1, suggesting that most shoppers had already planned Prime Day purchases ahead of the event, and were quick to grab their sought-after deals on the first morning. Nevertheless, sales remained strong at over 50% above the base level—until 8 pm on Day 1. Day 2 did not appear to show a peak period as shown by the similar ranges of ACOS and sales levels across various hours being spread out rather than within a period of consecutive hours. This could be because shoppers who were eagerly waiting for Prime Day had already done some of their shopping during Day 1. There were more sales right up until midnight (during the final hour of Day 2), suggesting that some customers may have been trying to take advantage before Day 2’s window closed.

Key takeaway: Advertisers should note that the best ACOS and sale are likely to occur on the morning of Day 1, so ad budget should be distributed appropriately over two days of advertising. The data above of Prime Day 2022 suggested those investing on Day 1 have turned the biggest profits.

4. Biggest Prime Day Growth for Office Products, Appliances, and Electronics

This year, categories that saw the strongest Prime Day sales growth were Office Products, Appliances, and Electronics. While every category saw an increase in CPC, sales growth was by no means universal. 

This differs slightly from 2021’s top three: Pets & Animals, Sports & Outdoors, and Electronics. While 2021 saw people staying home with their pets more during work-from-home circumstances and spending time exercising outdoors, 2022’s perhaps “newer” normal saw Office Products followed by Appliances perform as the top two categories. With employee workplace sentiment continuing to be mostly made up of the importance of being able to work flexibly including from home, this growth in Office Products this Prime Day is likely attributed to shoppers buying office products as well personal and professional appliances for their home offices. An alternative explanation could also be that as employers attempt to navigate the hybrid work model, they are the ones purchasing office products as well as appliances to spruce up the in-person working environment.

Electronics, however, remained in 2022’s top performing categories, likely due to its high-ticket prices and shoppers’ desire to purchase these items when heavily discounted.

*note: Our data shows how sales and CPC grew in different product categories during Amazon Prime Day 2022. This category-level data is based on SP campaigns only.

Key takeaway:While some categories were more suited to attention-grabbing deals, we saw sales growth in all categories, and the CPC spikes showed that competition wasn’t restricted to certain items. Advertisers should also take into consideration the new normal and subsequent variations of it, acting fast to experiment with categories, newly pursuing or reinvesting, that may open up opportunities for growth due to the ever-changing macro and micro environment.

Category Benchmarks

To fully understand the meaning of category growth rates, it is useful to see the absolute numbers for your respective metrics. This also helps you easily compare your own ACOS, CVR, or other KPIs with the benchmark based on the performance of your immediate competitors.

*CPA = cost per acquisition = spend/conversions

The category benchmarks for Prime Day 2022 showed that, even on exceptional shopping days (in comparison to typical shopping behavior seen in our downloadable Q2 2022 Amazon Benchmark Report of North America), the underlying nature of the categories’ overall performance was maintained. For example, Automotive and Cell Phones & Accessories are usually amongst the categories with the lowest CVRs and this was no different during Prime Day. 

However, Prime Day did make the situation more extreme, as these categories saw their CVRs even lower than they typically were, with reference to our Q2 2022 Amazon Benchmark Report of North America. Combined with the rising CPCs, this resulted in significantly higher cost per acquisition, particularly for Cell Phones & Accessories where the CPA hit $37.72.

Another insight from our category data is that Prime Day 2022 didn't impact all categories in the same way. Our Q2 2022 Amazon North America Benchmark Report showed the CVR of Baby Products at a moderate level while during Prime Day, it was the category with the highest CVR at 30%, outperforming all others.

Beauty & Personal Care came in as the category with the second highest CVR at 26% during Prime Day, akin to a high CVR of 28% as shown in our Q2 2022 Amazon North America Benchmark Report, although it had the highest CPC at $2.87 over the two-day event. The high CPC may indicate that there was a lot of competition in this category that is very popular with consumers but the high CVR justified aggressive bidding.

Finally, Pet Supplies had the second highest CPC at $2.74 with a moderate CVR during Prime Day in comparison to being the category with the highest CPC as well as CVR in Q2. This could be because shoppers used Prime Day to look for special items rather than the the high-conversion repeat purchases they would normally buy outside of Prime Day.

The relatively modest CPC growth in some categories indicated that advertisers across Amazon perceived these areas as less deal-friendly, but this did not mean that shoppers thought the same way. Could there be opportunities for those who dare to try something different?

5. 2022 Sees Biggest Prime Day Bump Since Pre-Pandemic Times

Amazon Prime Day 2022 saw the biggest increase in sales during Prime Day of the last four years. Pre-pandemic, it was no surprise that sales grew by 156% during 2019 and perhaps less of a surprise that sales grew by 168% in 2022, what could be considered “post-pandemic” by some or simply a continually changing “new normal.” 

This likely could be attributed to harder to convert buyers due to the continued inflationary environment that impacts customers’ disposable income and thus purchase decisions. An example was that Electronics, one of the most expensive durable goods categories, was not the top priority for shoppers this year as alternative categories dominated the top spots, as discussed above. Far from a return to normalcy, this suggests that consumers hungered more than ever for major shopping events. This willlingness to spend more to take advantage of offers on special shopping occassions clearly presents great opportunities for advertisers. We would expect this to continue during Cyber 5 and the deal-heavy events in Q4.

*note: This chart compared the growth in sales during Prime Day 2022 with the equivalent growth rates of previous years. In each case, the Prime Day sales growth was calculated based on the average of the prior two-week period.

Key Takeaway: Amazon Prime Day 2022 saw a 168% sales growth—higher than the last three consecutive years’. Again, advertisers may find it helpful to consider new categories or reconsider those they’d pulled back investment from, sensibly testing the potential of a multitude of categories in the uncertain environment impacting supply chains and consumer spending behavior alike that isn’t likely to subside soon.

Did you find our Amazon Prime Day 2022 recap insightful? We are delighted to chat about all things data in the eCommerce marketplace space. Please drop us a line at hello@perpetua.io.