During Amazon's October 6 and 7 Prime Big Deal Days, US shoppers spent $9.86 billion online across retailers, up 8.5% year over year, according to Adobe data reported by Digital Commerce 360. That is the total during the two day window across retailers. It is not Amazon's sales alone, and the figure does not tell us how much demand was new, how much shifted from later weeks, or how much profit retailers kept.
Retailers have a discount problem they helped create!
During Amazon's October 6 and 7 Prime Big Deal Days, US shoppers spent $9.86 billion online across retailers, up 8.5% year over year, according to Adobe data reported by Digital Commerce 360. That is the total during the two day window across retailers. It is not Amazon's sales alone, and the figure does not tell us how much demand was new, how much shifted from later weeks, or how much profit retailers kept.
That distinction is where the commercial debate starts. A retailer can report a strong event and still have sold at a lower margin, pulled purchases forward, or taken orders on items that would have sold anyway. Higher sales are useful only when the event improves the full season result after markdown, returns, fulfilment, media and labour costs.
Promotions also set an expectation. If customers learn there is always another offer, full price becomes harder to defend. Refusing to participate can hand traffic and basket spend to competitors. The point is to decide what each event is supposed to do and measure whether it did that job.
Timing matters as well. If an offer brings sales forward from November or December, the event may make one week look stronger while leaving a gap later. The same promotion should be checked against stock availability and the full price sales trend after it ends.
Before calling it a success, I would compare the event with a normal trading period, check margin after discount, returns, inventory movement and repeat visits. Did the event bring in new customers, or accelerate purchases from regulars? What happened in the weeks after the offer ended?
Would you count the event as a win on revenue, or only if it added profitable demand and brought shoppers back after the offer ended?
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