Amazon’s Prime Day sales event, which started in 2015, has consistently broken sales records every year. Last October, the company introduced another sales event called Prime Big Deal Days, also known as the Prime Early Access Sale. This event offered deals similar to Prime Day and served as the kickoff for the holiday shopping season. It also gave Amazon a head start on holiday shopping compared to brick-and-mortar retail. Initially intended as a one-time event to boost Prime subscriptions, Amazon has now scheduled another Prime Early Access Sale event for October this year.
Barclays’ credit card data shows that these promotional activities have had a wider impact than just boosting sales on the event days. The data reveals that the entire Prime month consistently results in higher spending per person compared to the average of the first six non-Prime months between 2019 and 2023.
The Prime Big Deal Days sale also had a positive effect. A comparison of monthly spending per person in 2022 among Amazon, Walmart, Target, and eBay shows that the Prime Big Deal Days led to a 5.6% growth in October last year compared to the average spending per person during non-sale months among competitors. Except for Walmart, none of the rivals exhibited positive growth in October, and even Target with its Target Deal Days showed negative 1% growth. This indicates that introducing Prime Big Deal Days put Amazon ahead of its competitors.
Analyst Ross Sandler rates Amazon shares as Overweight (Buy) and has set a price target of $180, offering a one-year upside of 24%. The consensus view on Amazon is also overwhelmingly positive, with all but one of the 39 other reviews being positive, making it a Strong Buy. If the average target of $175.63 is met, investors can expect returns of around 21% in a year’s time.
It’s important to note that the opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts, and it is recommended to conduct your own analysis before making any investment decisions.