As eCommerce continues to dominate the retail landscape, Amazon’s Big Deal Days—also known as Prime Day 2.0—has become a key event for both sellers and shoppers alike. While it doesn’t quite have the impact of the summer Prime Day or the juggernaut of the Turkey 5 (Black Friday through Cyber Monday), Big Deal Days offers valuable insights and opportunities for sellers looking to maximize sales in the run-up to the holiday season.
Today, we’ll dive deep into what Big Deal Days means for sellers, how it affects the broader retail landscape, and why this event is a crucial stepping stone toward the busiest shopping season of the year.
Shopping Highlights: What Were People Buying?
According to Numerator, 62% of Big Deal Days shoppers placed at least two orders, with the average spend per household reaching $135. The top-performing categories were home goods, apparel, and electronics. Shoppers weren’t just snagging one or two items—they were loading up their carts with multiple purchases over the two-day event.
Amazon itself backed up these findings, noting major interest in smart home devices, home essentials, and personal electronics. The key takeaway for sellers? Big Deal Days was more about self-shopping than holiday gift-buying. Consumers were focused on upgrading their own gadgets and home setups rather than crossing names off their holiday shopping lists. This was a golden opportunity for sellers in categories like tech, home goods, and fashion to cater to a self-gifting audience.
The Competitive Landscape: How Other Retailers Responded
It’s not just Amazon reaping the benefits of October sales. Major retailers like Walmart, Target, and even specialty stores have jumped on the bandwagon with their own sales events. As Modern Retail pointed out, these retailers are taking aggressive steps to keep pace with Amazon, offering price-matching and exclusive deals.
For sellers, this means you’re not just competing on Amazon—you’re up against the entire retail landscape. Shoppers are comparison-shopping across platforms, and they’re savvier than ever. If you’re a seller, now’s the time to focus on what makes your product stand out. Whether it’s offering Prime shipping, unique bundles, or competitive pricing, you’ll need to grab attention fast in this fiercely competitive environment.
What This Means for Amazon Sellers
Big Deal Days serves as more than just a sales event—it’s a chance for Amazon sellers to test strategies and gather critical data ahead of the holiday season. Consider this event a dress rehearsal for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The data you collect from Big Deal Days is invaluable in shaping your Q4 strategy.
Amazon sellers should focus on optimizing their listings and leveraging Amazon’s AI-powered shopping guides to enhance visibility . Backend data like product attributes and Q&A participation play a crucial role in ranking, so make sure you’re fully dialed in. Sellers who participated in Big Deal Days also had the chance to experiment with ad placements, keywords, and creatives—fine-tuning these elements for the bigger shopping days just around the corner.
Big Deal Days: Shopping Catalyst or Just Another Sale?
There’s been some debate over whether Amazon’s Big Deal Days is a true shopping catalyst or just another sale. In my view, it’s a mix. While it doesn’t carry the same weight as the July Prime Day or the frenzy of Black Friday, it’s still a key event that warms up shoppers for the holidays.
According to Chain Store Age, many consumers are still in self-shopping mode during Big Deal Days. They’re purchasing items for themselves, rather than getting an early start on holiday gifts. However, this event does an excellent job of building momentum for the rest of the year. It primes both consumers and retailers for the bigger shopping days to come.
The beauty of Big Deal Days is that it doesn’t cannibalize Black Friday or Cyber Monday. Instead, it creates a lead-in to these bigger events by getting consumers into the spending mindset without overwhelming them with holiday pressure.
Shopping Behavior: What the Data Tells Us
MarketWatch reports that 83% of American households now shop on Amazon, and Big Deal Days gives us a valuable window into how they’re shopping. The majority of purchases during this event were centered on home goods, apparel, and personal tech—categories that aren’t typically associated with holiday gifts. Instead, shoppers were focused on upgrading their own lives and purchasing practical items they had been eyeing for themselves.
For sellers, this data points to one key strategy: cater to the self-gifting mentality. Position your products as personal upgrades or lifestyle enhancements that shoppers can’t pass up. This approach will not only boost your Big Deal Days sales but also set you up for success in the weeks leading up to the holidays.
Preparing for the Holiday Rush: All of Retail Is Waking Up
Big Deal Days isn’t just an Amazon event—it’s a wake-up call for the entire retail industry. Walmart, Target, and specialty retailers are all rolling out deals to compete with Amazon, and this event marks the beginning of the holiday sales season. For sellers, this is a critical time to ensure your inventory is ready, your listings are optimized, and your logistics are rock-solid.
Use Big Deal Days as an opportunity to test your systems and iron out any kinks before the real shopping frenzy begins. The insights you gather now will help you refine your strategy and avoid last-minute surprises during the all-important Black Friday and Cyber Monday events.
Final Thoughts: What’s Next for Sellers?
Amazon’s Big Deal Days has come and gone, but the insights it provided are far from over. Congratulations to all the sellers who participated and maximized this opportunity! For those of you who didn’t, don’t worry—there are plenty of chances to jump in on future events. Take what we’ve learned from this October sale, refine your strategies, and get ready to dominate the upcoming holiday shopping season.
If you need more help, BellaVix is a full-service Amazon Agency that can help you achieve great results with Amazon DSP and scale your Amazon business. Connect with us today!
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