Amazon.sg's first-ever Prime Day in Singapore happens today and tomorrow, just days after Amazon.sg turned one on October 8, 2020.
The event is expected to generate significant sales for Amazon – as well as for competing retailers – and mark the unofficial beginning of the holiday shopping season.
Online revenue overall is expected to increase this year amid major changes in shopping behaviour, with many consumers limiting their trips to malls and stores. According to Adobe’s Digital Economy Index (ADI), the pandemic has resulted in an extra spending of US$94 billion since lockdowns went into effect in March 2020. Online spending reached US$434.5 billion from January through July 2020, stated the ADI, and at current growth, could exceed 2019 levels.
Sonia Lapinsky, MD at consulting firm AlixPartners, also pointed out that employees who are working from home can shop without hiding their behaviour from bosses, as they might have to when in open cubicles at the office.
“As we’ve seen in past years, Amazon Prime Day has turned into a big day for retail overall, as large retailers and even smaller merchants plan promotions and deals around Prime Day,” added Michael Klein, Global Director of strategy and marketing for retail, travel, and consumer goods at Adobe.
“They want to take advantage of the eyeballs that are going to be out there looking for deals, and we expect the same to be true this year.”
Klein further highlighted that with the longer shipping and available deals, shoppers are thinking ahead and starting their holiday shopping early.
Amazon's 2019 sales are estimated to have jumped 71% to US$7.16 billion worldwide year over year. Last year, major retailers — those with at least US$1 billion in sales — saw an average lift in revenue of 68% during the two-day event, according to Adobe research. Small and midsize retailers also saw a significant increase in online sales of 28%.
In 2018, 37% of online shoppers said they looked at other online retail sites on Prime Day, and 51% of shoppers who browsed a non-Amazon website or app during Prime Day bought something.
Adobe’s Making the Holidays Happy: Guide to Evolving Marketing Strategies During COVID research found that despite the current climate, 78% of consumers are planning to spend just as much or even more for the holidays, with 39% reporting that they are making online purchases more often than before.
With consumers spending more time at home, they’re more likely to see more online promotions from retailers. Retailers are reacting to this consumer shift and starting promotions earlier. Prime Day will further accelerate this pull-up of holiday season, promotions, and spending, Adobe said.
Check Point has also commented on Prime Day, warning that the cybercriminals are out in force to attack consumers during this time. Researchers at Check Point conducted an analysis of cyberthreats related to Prime Day in the weeks leading up to the event. They found an increase in the number of registered domains related to Amazon that are malicious. In the last 30 days, there was a 21% increase in domains registered containing the word “Amazon” compared to the previous month. More than a quarter (28%) of those domains have been found to be malicious and another 10% suspicious, Check Point said.
Furthermore, the number of domains registered containing the words “Amazon” and “Prime” has doubled within the last 30 days, with 20% of those domains being malicious.
Check Point’s Data Threat Researcher, Omer Dembinsky said: “We’re sounding the alarm bells, as we’re seeing unusually high surges of malicious domains attempting to imitate the e-commerce giant at this time. Before Amazon Prime Day, create a strong password, don’t overshare personal details on your profile, and watch for any misspelling of Amazon.com as you shop from page to page. On Amazon Prime Day, triple-check if you are actually on Amazon.com. The revelation is clear: as consumers gear up for Prime Day, so are hackers. One wrong click can lead to all your personal information getting out there.”
In July 2020, Amazon postponed Prime Day, its annual summer sales event for Prime members, to revamp its logistics operations for an expected surge in online orders and for the development of safety protocols to keep its warehouse workers safe.
Explore:
Read the Adobe blog post on what Prime Day means for retailers.
Read Amazon Singapore's Country Manager Henry Low's thoughts on turning one.
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| Source: Adobe Making the Holidays Happy: Guide to Evolving Marketing Strategies During COVID white paper. Gen Z and Millennial consumers are most likely to have a higher budget in 2020. |
