Amazon continues to position itself as an enabler of small businesses rather than an 800-pound gorilla of retail, as evidenced by its post-Prime Day headline today: “Amazon Prime Day 2020 Marked the Two Biggest Days Ever for Small & Medium Businesses in Amazon’s Stores Worldwide.”
Sellers saw record-breaking sales, surpassing $3.5 billion in total across 19 countries, it reported after holding 2020 Prime Day on October 13 – 14. That’s a nearly 60% increase over Prime Day 2019, growing even more than Amazon’s retail business, according to the announcement.
Amazon usually holds Prime Day in the summer, but this year chose to hold the event in October because of the pandemic.
In the two weeks leading up to the shopping event, it funded a promotion that helped drive over $900 million in sales for small businesses, the company said.
Top-selling categories for third-party sellers include Bedding, Wireless Accessories, Nutrition & Wellness, Arts, Crafts & Sewing, and Health Care.
As for shoppers, “Prime members around the world saved over $1.4 billion during the epic deals event.”
Interestingly, Amazon said more Prime members opted to ship items to an Amazon Hub pickup location this year versus last year. “As of the end of October 13, the top ten U.S. cities where Prime members used a Hub Locker or Counter service are Brooklyn, Chicago, Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Jose, and Seattle.”
You can find the full press release on the AboutAmazon.com website.
Really? I didn’t buy a single thing!