Prime Day shoppers lean on buy now, pay later during record-setting event for Amazon

Amazon may be going through a rough patch, but it can still count on Prime Day to deliver big bucks.

The two-day shopping event last week brought in $12.7 billion in sales, a 6.1% YoY climb and a new record for Prime Day, according to Adobe Analytics. But the big winner of this year’s event may well have been buy now, pay later, which accounted for 6.5% of orders, or $927 million in revenue—a 20% YoY bump. It’s evidence that deal-hungry consumers are still feeling the effects of inflation and will continue to lean on the service moving forward, according to Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights.

“For months, consumers have felt the effects of persistent inflation and an uncertain economic environment, and it has pushed shoppers to embrace more flexible ways to manage their spending around the Prime Day event,” Pandya said in a statement. “The revenue growth attributed to Buy Now Pay Later is a preview of what we can expect in the months ahead, especially as we near the holiday shopping season.”

Let’s break it down: In terms of categories, appliances, housekeeping supplies, electronics, apparel, and office supplies drove much of the second-day growth. Apparel, furniture and home, and electronics were among the most sought-after BNPL categories.

• It also appears curbside pickup is here to stay; the service accounted for 20% of online orders on July 12, up from 19% last year.
• And smartphones accounted for 44.8% of online sales on July 12, compared to 41.5% last year. Pandya said this is indicative of consumers growing more comfortable “shopping on smaller screens” and with last-minute impulse spending.

“Prime Day has become one of the biggest e-commerce moments of the year, as consumers latch onto major discounts from a number of different retailers,” Pandya said. “The record spending so far shows us that consumers are tapping into their inner bargain hunters, stocking up on specific categories such as electronics and apparel while the discounts remain steep.”