Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

Prime Day 2022 Recap 

by 
Ethan Chernofsky
 on 
July 18, 2022
Prime Day 2022 Recap 

Prime Day usually takes place in June or July, and gives Amazon and other retailers a chance to entice shoppers with the promise of steep discounts for Back to School and other items in a period traditionally devoid of major sales events. The context for Prime Day 2022, however, was the significant inventory surplus that led many retailers to offer massive discounts before Prime Day even rolled around. 

Walmart, a major player in the Prime Day space since 2015, announced that it would not hold a rival event to Prime Day this year since much of its merchandise is already on sale. But other retailers, including Best Buy, Target, and of course Amazon, continued the tradition with a two-day (or in the case of Target, three-day and in case of Best Buy, four-day) sales event. Most Prime Day activity takes place online, but the event also has a significant offline impact as consumers pick up their digital orders in-store or browse the shelves to try out products prior to buying.

Comparisons to Previous Years

Prime Day has become a major asset for Amazon’s online sales, quickly becoming one of the most important retail holidays on the calendar. And data from 2022’s event indicates that Amazon’s preparedness for Prime Day has grown accordingly, enabling it to better meet this growing demand. Average daily visits to a sample of Amazon warehouses were up 11.5% and 13.1% on Tuesday and Wednesday of Prime Day, respectively, when compared to the pre-pandemic iteration – indicating an uptick in demand, and perhaps more importantly, an increased capacity to handle that demand increase. The result is a testament to Amazon’s skill in not just driving excitement, but in evolving its capabilities to better handle that spike in interest.

On a year-over-year (YoY) and year-over-three-year (Yo3Y) basis, the big winner of Prime Day 2022 was Target. The retailer ran its three-day sales event between July 11th and 13th, and although the savings were exclusive to the Target app and website, the Deal Days had a clear offline impact. Nationwide visits to the brand’s locations grew relative to both 2019’s and 2021’s Prime Day, even though Target was already offering discounts for weeks before the event. The retailer’s performance is especially impressive considering the wider YoY visit declines seen across much of the retail landscape driven by a combination of significant economic headwinds like inflation and high gas prices, and a comparison to a uniquely strong Back-to-School season in 2021.

Best Buy, which ran a rival “Black Friday in July Event” between July 11th and July 14th, starting one day before Prime Day and ending one day after – but the retailer, which has been offering a Prime Day lookalike sale for several years now, did not beat its 2019 or 2021 Black Friday in July visit numbers.  

Comparing to Recent Mid-Week Performance

The relative impact of the recent economic challenges and the comparisons to the strong retail performance of July 2021 comes into focus when comparing Prime Day 2022 foot traffic to more recent visit trends. For example, traffic to Best Buy – which saw visits down 15.4% and 8.7% YoY on Prime Day – was up 16.3% and 20.8% on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Prime Day 2022 when compared to visit averages for those same weekdays the previous five weeks. A similar boost was seen for Amazon Warehouses, while Target saw a healthy 4.5% and 3.5% increase in Tuesday and Wednesday visits, respectively, compared to the average for those same weekdays over the previous five weeks. The better visit performance relative to recent weeks is especially important in that it shows the ability of a key ‘retail holiday’ to drive an uptick even within a difficult environment. The ability of Best Buy, Target and others to leverage the opportunity demonstrates a powerful ability to adapt and drive strength even against wider economic headwinds.

Prime Day has become a critical part of the retail calendar, and Amazon has shown a growing capability to maximize its impact. Yet, the rising importance of these dates have also pushed other retailers to get involved in similar processes driving strong success for their own campaigns.

For more data-driven retail insights, visit Placer.ai

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Text Link
Prime Day
Text Link
Best Buy
Text Link
Target
Checking in With Nike and Lululemon
Black Friday 2023 Retail Recap
Starbucks’ 2023 Holiday Menu & Red Cup Day Performance
Turkey Wednesday 2023
Who Attended the 2023 Pickleball Championship? 
Three Surprising Holiday Shopping Trends
What’s in Store for Ulta Beauty This Holiday Season?
Best Buy and Department Stores: A Holiday Deep Dive
Discount & Dollar Stores: Strength Toward The End of the Year
The State of Off-Price Retail: Discounts Seal The Deal
Placer Mall Index Recap: October 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: October 2023 Recap
Retail Corridors Ahead of the 2023 Holiday Season
California, Here Gap Comes
Checking in With Home Improvement
Getting Into the Glasses Game: Warby Parker Takes Over
Fitness Positioned for a Strong 2023 Finish
White Paper Recap: October 2023
Coffee Giants Brewing Up Business
Popeyes and Burger King Lead the Way
Diving into Yum!
Looking Ahead to Black Friday 2023
Blockbusters Drive Movie Theater Comeback
Crocs and Boot Barn: Shoe-Ins for Success
McDonald’s and Chipotle's Winning Recipe
The State Of Steak: Checking in With Texas Roadhouse
Pleasant Pastimes: Pickleball Potential Proves Potent
Who’s Driving Downtown Manhattan’s Weekend Revival?
Diving into Downtown Manhattan Foot Traffic Trends
Rite Aid: Rightsizing Right
Major League Soccer: Its Die-Hard and Casual Fans
The Anchor Recap: September 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: September 2023 Recap
Placer Mall Index Recap: September 2023
September White Paper Recap
The Consumer Habits of College Students
JCPenney: Rightsizing and Revitalizing
Pent-Up Demand Ahead of October Sales Events
4 Strategies Retailers are Using to Drive Traffic to Their Venues
5 Key Regional Grocery Players Impressing in 2023
Upscale Kitchenware Trending Up
Costco Finds More Room for Growth
Four C-Store Chains Making an A-Grade
National Parks + Outdoor Summer Activities
Diving Into Darden: Summer 2023 Update
The Summer Event Effect
Messi: Massive in Miami
Looking Back on Back to School 2023
The Anchor Recap: August 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: August 2023 Recap
Placer.ai White Paper Recap: August 2023
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Strikes Again
Big Scoop: We All Scream For Ice Cream
Sports Away: Lululemon & Nike’s Momentum Continues
Summer Visits Heat Up For Recreation and Outdoor Gear Chains
No CSS overwrite - July 2023 Office Index Recap
Staging - August 2023 Mall Indec
Mid-Atlantic Grocery Deep Dive
Experiential Chains Heating Up This Summer
Petco Goes Big by Going Small
Ulta Beauty: Leading the Discretionary Pack
Discount and Dollar Chains Continue to Thrive
Summer of Sports: DICK’s Sporting Goods and Hibbett Sports
Off-Price: Succeeding Into Summer
The Anchor Recap: July 2023
Superstores Maintaining Pandemic Gains Amidst Economic Headwinds
2023: Home Improvement at the Halfway Point
July 2023 Office Index Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: July 2023 Recap
The Taylor Swift Visit Lift
Southwestern Grocery Dive
July 2023 White Paper Recap: Halfway Point Review & Quarterly Index
Yum! Brands: Driving Dining Visits
Slurpees and Summer Movies Stimulate Consumer Foot Traffic
Cool Beans: Summer Coffee Update
Checking In on Back to School 2023
Crocs and New Balance Tip The Scales
Burger Bliss: Shake Shack and In-N-Out Stacking Visits
Chipotle & McDonald's Continue to Reign Supreme
Vibenomics and Placer.ai Partner to Enhance Retail Media In-Store Measurement
California Grocers Here We Come!
Marriott’s Different Audiences
Bonchon and Kura Sushi Thrive in the Fast-Casual Scene
A Shoe In: Footwear Climbs to the Top
Cheers! Raising a Glass to Beverage Retail
Placer.ai Office Index: June 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index June 2023 Recap – A Turn of the Tide and a Dive into Open-Air Lifestyle Centers
Local Kitchens: Redefining the Restaurant
Unlocking Urban Insights: The Value in Manhattan’s Employees
Ohio State Parks On The Rise
How is Inflation Impacting the High-Income Shoppers?
Five Fast-Growing Dining Chains
What To Expect From Prime Day and July Sales Events in 2023
The State Of Fashion: How Are Apparel Retailers Faring in 2023?
2023’s Latest Dining Success Story: GEN Korean BBQ House
The NBA Finals: A Location Intelligence Perspective
Moving the Market: The Impact of Domestic Migration on Housing Costs
Post-Pandemic Museum Update
The Darden-est Things