Winning Prime Day Amid Price Pressures

THE BIG SPRING SALE: WHAT DID WE LEARN?

• Deal Participation was lower than other tentpoles, only +58% of Stella Rising clients chose to participate
• Clients that participated saw an average of a +22% lift vs YTD average daily sales and an +18% lift vs Big Spring Sale 2024
• Clients that did not participate still saw an average of a +6% lift vs YTD average daily sales and a +25% lift vs LY due to the increased traffic on Amazon
• Average Discount 15%-25% off
• TLDR: Consumers are still shopping a sale—and there can be wins on the board when priced and positioned appropriately

WHICH PROMOTIONAL EVENTS CAN YOU TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NEXT?

• Graduation (5/27-6/9)
• Father’s Day (6/9-6/15)
• Stella Recommendation: While these promotions are not heavily merchandised on Amazon, we recommend assessing and testing these smaller events where it makes sense for your brand.

GET READY, HERE COMES PRIME DAY

 Prime Day 2025 dates are not announced yet, but we estimate the 2^nd or 3^rd week of July based on inbound shipping deadlines and historical timing

For the first time ever, Prime Day will be a 4-day event. Amazon has also introduced a 30% minimum discount requirement for enhanced merchandising consideration

STELLA PRIME DAY PREDICTIONS

• Amazon will invest heavily in on-site merchandising and off-site marketing to make this year’s event their biggest ever.
• Given the current economic landscape, many brands will either limit their promotional assortment and discounts to protect their margins—or may even skip out on the event altogether.
• Brands may reduce advertising spend, causing a potential shift in the Amazon ecosystem and competition.
• Consumers are wary of price increases and will pull back to focus on essentials…But another behavior to watch out for? Consumers purchasing heavily now, stocking up before potential price increases.
• Only a small percentage of consumers will continue to shop as usual, showing sensitivity to upcoming price changes.
• Brands should communicate any price increases as soon as possible to maintain trust and good communication with their devoted customers.

CHECK LIST FOR PRIME DAY

• Define Your Prime Day Goals: Are you hoping to:
  • Drive sales?
  • Acquire new customers?
  • Promote a new product?
  • Increase Subscribe ‘n Save subscriptions?
  • Move through overstocked or phase-out inventory?

Determining how you want Prime Day to serve your brand is a crucial first step in developing your promotional strategy.

Drive Results...Profitably: Given tumultuous tariffs and Amazon’s push for deeper discounts, brands must consider profitability when finalizing their Prime Day promotional assortment. Prioritize products with healthy margins to ensure that you’re not driving increased topline sales at the expense of your bottom line.

• Ensure your catalog has ample inventory: promoted and non-promoted asins: Ensure inventory is sent well before the fulfillment center cut offs for the entire catalog to avoid out of stocks. Your entire catalog will get extra visibility with the increased traffic on the site!
• Create a robust advertising strategy with updated creatives, strategic keywords, and sponsored brand ads that link to a dedicated deals page in your brand store. Flight spend strategically to support your unique goals during the lead-in, event, and lead-out phases. Stella Tip: Tap into Amazon Marketing Cloud for enhanced insights and custom audience creation opportunities.
• Develop Enhanced Brand Store & Amazon Posts Creatives to showcase promotional assortment and drive customer awareness and engagement.
• Support Promotion with External Traffic including influencer marketing, press/PR, social media, and email.

Inventory Planning:

Additional Source: The Wall Street Journey, May 2025, eMarketer, “Tariff Impact: Categories in Which US Adults Will Continue to Spend Even When Cutting Back Elsewhere, April 2025,” April 2025