Amazon continues to break sales records every year and Prime Day 2021 will likely follow the trend.
Since 2015, Prime Day has grown to become one of Amazon’s most important events. And while COVID-19 turned retail on its head, even an October Prime Day in 2020 proved to be even more successful than the last one.
But Prime Day isn’t just about sales.
There’s a deeper meaning behind Prime Day. And to figure it out, we decided to survey primary Amazon Prime account holders leading up to Prime Day 2021 to understand their thoughts and behavior.
The data tells an interesting story about Prime member acquisition and how members feel once enrolled. Most importantly, there is a big takeaway, as you might be thinking about a shopping holiday for your brand.
26% of Prime Members joined Amazon Prime for Prime Day.
On the scale of all Amazon Prime members, which is almost 150 million, that is a massive number – Around 39 million people signed up for Prime Day.
So, while twenty six percent might not sound big, that is a potential $464,100,0000 in revenue from membership fees alone at that scale – Just from people wanting to sign up for the shopping holiday.
But after Prime Day, does the allure wear off for members?
50% of Prime Members are more excited about Prime Day each year, 50% are less excited.
When it comes to Prime Day excitement as time goes on, members are on the fence. That’s understandable. While there are tons of great deals to be had, it only comes once a year.
So, while members flock to Amazon during the event for the best deals on TVs and air fryers, what about the rest of the year?
The data shows that Prime Day alone is not enough to keep members engaged.
Less than 2% of Prime members said Prime Day is the main reason they plan to renew their membership.
Even for all those Prime members who are still excited when Prime day comes around, almost no one renews their memberships mainly based on Prime Day.
So, is Prime Day really that important?
The answer is yes. Just because Prime members are not renewing based on Prime Day alone doesn’t mean they’re not renewing at all. Quite the contrary.
79% of Prime Members said the fast, free shipping benefit is the main reason they plan to renew their membership.
While a huge number of consumers sign up because of Prime Day, they stick around for the other valuable benefits that Amazon offers, like members’ only pricing (8%) and streaming services (11%).
But hands down, it is the free shipping that keeps them coming back. This data is right in line with the 2020 Premium Loyalty Data Study. The study found that 66% percent of consumers said free shipping is a perk that would motive them to join a premium loyalty program. Convenience and saving money are highly motivating.
94% of Prime Members are likely to make Amazon their first stop when shopping.
Once they are in the door, Prime members become extremely value to Amazon. Not only do they look to Amazon first for purchases, but on average, Prime members spend more than twice that of non-members.
It starts to become clear why Amazon puts on such a massive event every year.
Okay, but what if you’re not Amazon?
62% of consumers who belong to Amazon Prime would join other companies’ loyalty programs to get access to members-only shopping events.
Over the years, several retailers have launched their own Prime Day alternatives such, as Target Deal Days, Walmart’s Big Save event, Best Buy’s Bigger Deal Savings event, and more.
If you’re looking for a way to get more customers into your loyalty program, a shopping event could be the ticket. Once they’re in, you have the opportunity to demonstrate the value that your brand has to offer year-round, just like Amazon does.
Amazon Prime is a premium loyalty program that members pay for, but you could also do this with a free program. And many brands are launching premium tiers on top of their existing programs. Perhaps your special day could be reserved for premium members only.
44% of Prime Members talk about Prime Day to their friends and family.
When your loyalty program members feel like they’re getting a lot of value, they share the news.
That’s why 79% percent of Prime Members are likely to share the news with a friend if they got a good deal on a purchase on Prime Day. This is like what happens with other premium loyalty programs in general.
Consider Launching Your Own Prime Day Alternative for Loyalty Program Members
With almost 150 million U.S. members and counting, Amazon Prime is perhaps the best loyalty program of all time. But not every brand is Amazon.
The good news is that you can take a lesson or two from Amazon to create your own shopping holiday to acquire new loyalty program members. Once they’re in, it’s your chance to give them the best of your brand to keep them coming back. This creates customer loyalty well beyond any sales event.
For more Amazon Prime takeaways that you can apply to your loyalty program, check out our 5 Loyalty Lessons From Amazon Prime webinar.
Survey Methodology: Clarus Commerce surveyed 1,000 U.S. primary Amazon Prime account holders in June 2021.
Paul Wolfer
Paul is our Senior Manager, B2B Marketing. He works closely with the leadership team on strategic positioning, messaging and branding. When he's not posting on LinkedIn or working on the newest data study, he can usually be found adventuring to breweries or attempting to learn a new song on his guitar.