The Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) is the most prominent time for shopping in the United States. Starting from November 25, the day next to Thanksgiving, the biggest shopping season will continue up to Cyber Monday that falls on November 28 this year.
As many merchants are wondering what to expect this year when inflation is causing layoffs and reoccurring losses, e-commerce expert Scott Elchison presented his insights based on Amazon’s Prime Day.
“I like to look at other large shopping holiday’s to get a temp check on customer sentiment and spending behavior. Amazon’s Prime Day is my preferred event to use as a leading indicator. So what were the results of Prime Day 2022? eMarketer has the goods,” he said in a LinkedIn post.
Elchison revealed that consumers’ online spending had reached $11.9 billion, which was 8.5 percent high year-over-year, during Amazon’s biggest sale season. Most of these sales came through Prime members, who “purchased 300 million items globally, more than ever before”.
Consumer Behaviour
Elchison’s study reveals that consumers’ shopping behavior changed during Amazon’s Prime Day. “They are more price sensitive, waiting for deals to buy and prefer to spend on household essentials,” he spoke of customers.
Currently working as SMS Partner Manager with New York-based Yopto, Elchison added his thoughts: “If the macro economic environment holds I think we will have a very successful BFCM shopping season as a whole. However, the individual brand challenge this year will be convincing consumers that a brands product(s) are a necessity vs. an indulgence.”
Struggling Economy
The microeconomic conditions are pretty bad in the US right now. Last Friday, Federal Reserve Bank chair Jerome Powell spoke of inflation during the annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
“Reducing inflation is likely to require a sustained period of below-trend growth. While higher interest rates, slower growth and softer labour market conditions will bring down inflation, they will also bring some pain to household and businesses,” he said.
“These are unfortunate costs of reducing inflation but a failure to restore price stability would mean far greater pain,” Powell added.
Expert Advice
Elchison also shared some recommendations in his LinkedIn post. “Early communication to a brands subscriber lists will be an extremely important tactic. Customers need to be primed about up-coming sales, productions, early access or even new product releases from a brand so they can plan their shopping season,” he said.
“Consistent and early communications can help brands convince their subscribers that a brand’s product isn’t an indulgence or a nice to have,” he added.
