Prime Big Deal Days kicks off holidays with slow start

Holiday promotions got off to a slow start this week as consumers in Florida braced for the second of two big storms in as many weeks. Amazon’s Prime Big Deal Days concluded yesterday while Hurricane Milton made landfall near Tampa Bay.

The extreme weather left its mark during a month when many already started their holiday shopping. Salesforce found U.S. digital traffic down 6% in Southeast states in the days preceding Prime Big Deal Days.

Nearly a third of consumers begin holiday shopping between July and October, according to a recent Gartner survey. Amazon began its October Prime event in 2022. Retailers like Target, Walmart and Wayfair followed suit this year with promotions of their own.

The weather’s impact on holiday shopping

“Natural disasters and significant weather events regularly interrupt holiday sales periods,” said Gartner retail analyst Kassi Socha.

Early Prime Day numbers suggest this year was particularly challenging due to weather. The first day of Prime Big Deal Days, October 8, found U.S. online traffic down 4% and online orders down 5%, according to Salesforce.

“There is evidence that current events in the U.S. are resulting in a quieter than planned Prime event,” said Caila Schwartz, director of consumer strategy and insights at Salesforce.

Globally, on October 8, web traffic was up 2% year-over-year, and order growth down only 1%. In Florida alone, traffic was down 10% October 5–8.

In Europe, traffic was up 10% on October 8 and online orders were up 4%.

Part of the U.S. slowdown might have resulted from marketers pulling back on ads and messages to let affected customers prepare for storms and recover.

“As brands continue to prioritize the health and safety of their customers, marketing efforts have been pulled back, contributing to the fall in overall YoY results so far this week,” said Schwartz.

The severity of this year’s storms could also affect deliveries, not just traffic and orders.

“The effects are more widely felt in the supply chain and logistic side,” said Socha. “For example, package delivery gets delayed. The types of items purchased by consumers in impacted areas will shift to mandatory items and consumables (shelf-stable food, flashlights, portable chargers) versus discretionary items.”

Services and perks for holiday shoppers

Even without the extreme weather, marketers are adding extra services and perks to sweeten the deal for holiday shoppers.

To entice early shoppers, and to compete with Amazon, many retailers extended return policies to include October purchases.

“Several retailers have also pulled forward their extended holiday return policy to cover the October promotional periods,” said Socha. “Macys, Newegg, Nordstrom Rack all began offering extended return policies for items purchased in early October through end of December to extend into mid-January.”

Socha added: “Many retailers like Target and Walmart are using the promotional period to amplify the benefits of joining their subscription programs (Target 360, Walmart+).”

The recent Gartner survey found 57% of consumers plan to use one or more value-added services during the holiday season.

These services include Buy Online, Pickup In Store (BOPIS), curbside pickup, same-day delivery or expedited shipping.

Price still a top factor for holiday shoppers

Many consumers believe better prices are to be found online than in-store. Twenty percent of consumers plan to up their online shopping this year in search of better prices, the same Gartner survey found.

Salesforce expected discounts to reach 22% in the U.S. this week, with the biggest savings to be found in general apparel, health and beauty, and home verticals.

Because price is a top factor for shoppers, Adobe predicts that holiday promotions will focus on discounts, including discounts for expensive goods.

Dig deeper: 2024 online holiday spending set for record year with $240 billion in sales