Amazon Prime Day 2021: The Results Are In

2021 continues to be the year of moving towards a "new normal," and one more case of this was Amazon Prime Day returning to the summer. With one more Prime Day behind us, it's time to take a look at how the Amazon holiday performed.

Increases in Amazon Traffic

Compared to the 2 weeks leading up to Prime Day

Consistent with previous years, the largest increases in impressions and sales was on the first day of Prime Day, however sales increased almost identical amounts on both days.

Key Takeaways: Shoppers flocked to Amazon on the first day of Prime Day, driving up impressions and spending, although there was less of an increase in traffic on the second day of Prime Day, these shoppers made as many purchases.

Shopping behaviour changes over Prime Day

Compared to the 2 weeks leading up to Prime Day

With the increased traffic on Amazon, CPCs increased on both days of Prime Day. Click-through-rates fell as shoppers did more searches to browse Amazon. These are both consistent with what has ocurred in previous years. Although conversion rates did increase on the second day of Prime, they actually fell on the first day - in previous years they have increased both days.

Key Takeaway: Shoppers didn't behave the same way this Prime Day as they did in previous years - frantically making purchases. Instead they waited until the second day of Prime Day to see if the items they wanted went on sale. This more methodical approach by shoppers was also seen by the increase in sales being lower than it was in previous years.

Growth by category over Prime Day

Compared to the 2 weeks leading up to Prime Day

The category that saw the most significant growth in 2021 was Pet & Animal products, with Sports & Outdoor equipment and Electronics also seeing significant growth. CPCs increased for all categories, but the most significant increase was on sports & outdoor equipment.

Key takeaway: Although certain categories are primed to do better on Prime Day, there is sales growth across categories. Regardless as to whether you have Prime Day deals running, you can expect an uptick in sales on this shopping event.

Category Benchmarks

Want to see how your ad performance compares to others in the space? Take a look at the below metrics.

*CPA = cost per acquisition = spend/conversions

Prime Day Sales increases through the years

Compared to the 2 weeks leading up to Prime Day

The increase in Attributed Sales for Prime Day 2021 was higher than it was in 2020, although not as high as the increase in 2019.

Key Takeaway: Prime Day does result in an increase in sales, but this may not be as significant as it's been in previous years. Advertisers may need to not rely as much on shopping events like Prime Day and focus on a full funnel advertising strategy throughout the entire year.

Do you have more questions about Prime Day performance this year? We would love to start a conversation with you, reach out to us at hello@perpetua.io