Amazon Prime Day 2022 sales growth estimated at double digits

Supermarket-related goods made their presence felt during Prime Day 2022, which Amazon described as “the biggest Prime Day ever.”

Seattle-based Amazon said that during the annual sales event, one of the world’s top shopping days of the year, members of its Prime customer benefits program bought more than 300 million items globally, making it the largest Prime Day event in Amazon’s history. The company didn’t report sales totals but said more than 100,000 items were sold per minute worldwide and over 60,000 per minute in the United States over the July 12-13 period.

Amazon also noted that Prime members saved more than $1.7 billion, more than in any previous Prime Day event. The top-selling categories in the U.S. were consumer electronics, household essentials and home products. Among items in the grocery space, big sellers included Crest Teeth Whitening products and Oral-B electronic toothbrushes.

“Prime Day is a celebration of our Prime members, who look forward to this event every year, and we’re thrilled to have delivered incredible savings to them once again,” Doug Herrington, CEO of Amazon Worldwide Stores, said in a statement. “This special event is made possible because of the support of our employees, vendors and sellers, and I want to give a big thank you to all of them for making this a Prime Day to remember.”

Related:Amazon to snare over 20% CPG share during Prime Day

Digital market research firm eMarketer pegged Amazon Prime Day 2022 sales at $7.76 billion, up 16.7% from $6.65 billion in 2021, when sales grew 7.8% year over year.

In a research note, BofA Global Research estimated that Amazon generated $10.7 billion in total Prime Day gross merchandise value (GMV), up 12% from $9.55 billion in 2021, when Prime Day GMV rose 7% from $8.95 billion. The uptick helped lift overall U.S. e-commerce sales during the Prime Day period, including countering promotions by rivals like Target, by 8.5% to $11.9 billion.

“Prime results seem fairly positive overall, in our view, with 20% unit growth being a strong number, given U.S. e-commerce growth expectations below 10% in 3Q,” BofA Global Research analysts Justin Post and Michael McGovern said in their report.

Of the top 10 product categories purchased during Prime Day 2022, grocery accounted for 17%, coming in at No. 6 and up from 16% last year, according to Numerator’s Prime Day Tracker. The consumer market data specialist found that 29% of Prime Day purchases were household essentials, the top category during the sales event.

Rounding out the top 10 were health and beauty (28%), consumer electronics (27%), apparel and shoes (25%), home and garden (22%), smart home devices (16%), toys and video games (15%), pet care (15%) and office supplies (10%). Numerator’s analysis is based on 58.934 Prime Day orders from 21.306 unique households and 4.847 verified Prime Day buyer surveys.

Related:Amazon turns in record Prime Day, despite lower growth

The top five items sold during Prime Day were Fire TV Sticks, Echo Dot (fourth generation), Blink cameras and doorbells, Amazon gift card reloads and Ring video doorbells, Numerator reported, noting that Frito-Lay Variety Packs came in at No. 6 after staying in the top five throughout most of the sales event. 

Unsurprisingly, Amazon-branded products accounted for a chunk of Prime Day purchases, including 27% of apparel and shoes, 33% of grocery items, 37% of household essentials, 41% of consumer electronics and 68% of smart home devices, according to Numerator survey results from consumers who bought those items.

For Prime Day 2022, the average spend per order was $52.26, up from $44.75 in the same reporting period on Prime Day 2021, Numerator reported. Fifty-six percent of orders were for $20 or less, and 13% were for over $100. Almost two-thirds (62%) of households shopping Prime Day placed more than orders, and 16% placed over five orders. The average household spend was $144.56, with 21% of households spending more than $200.

Of those shopping Prime Day 2022 and 2021, 35% spent more this year and 65% spent the same or less. Numerator’s research showed that inflation impacted 83% of Prime Day shoppers. Among those consumers,  34% said they waited for the sale to buy a specific item at a discounted price, and 28% reported they passed on a good deal because it wasn’t a necessity. Also, 22% of shoppers checked out prices outside of Amazon before buying. Notably, 66% of Prime Day shoppers didn’tt compare Amazon prices with any other retailers, and 62% made online purchases only from Amazon on Prime Day.