by Adam Vasquez, Founder + CEO, Merit
How do you single-handedly change the game for online shopping? Look at Amazon. They saw the opportunity back in February of 2005, and they’ve continued to iterate and expand their strategy in order to dominate the online retail industry.
Amazon Prime is a service offered to members who pay an annual fee of $119 (previously $79), which averages out to roughly $10/month. With this membership, you have access to free two-day shipping (sometimes even one-day or same-day), unlimited photo files storage, ad-free video streaming, flat-fee grocery deliveries, free Kindle eBook rentals, student discounts, and the opportunity to try clothes on before you buy. Amazon definitely puts an emphasis on convenience, which is exactly what today’s consumer is looking for.
Just when it seemed Amazon couldn’t raise the bar any higher, they invented “ Prime Day.” Starting in July of 2015, the online retailer created an annual shopping holiday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Amazon’s founding. This event is so big that it has outperformed Cyber Monday for multiple years in a row. Crazy, right? Although Amazon does not disclose sales figures, it has been estimated that approximately $4.2 billion was spent on Prime Day in 2018 alone.
Last year’s event lasted 36 hours, but this year you have a whole 48 hours to access deals on your favorite tech gadgets, home goods, Amazon devices, and so much more-literally, the list goes on and on.
The overall goal is not only to provide “epic deals,” but to drive new members to purchase Prime memberships and reinforce existing customer relationships. They even have a partnership with Whole Foods where you can save an extra 10 percent on sale items simply by being a Prime member. Up until July 16th, members received $10 to spend on Prime Day in return for spending $10 at Whole Foods (now an Amazon company). What’s better than buying groceries and earning free money while doing so? That’s a big win in my book.
Prime Day has undoubtedly become one of the most successful shopping holidays across the globe. But what’s success without competition? Walmart, Ebay, and Target are trying to beat Amazon at its own game and drive customers to their sites instead. “You don’t need to pay for a membership to access OUR deals” is what they’re all trying to say. Will their strategies work? Maybe.
It all goes to show that Amazon has revolutionized the retail industry by being a true market inventor. Having this many competitors trying to steal the spotlight only validates Prime Day’s success. Yes, the site does have a history of crashing during this time of year. But that’s what happens when you have deals as great as Amazon’s: you literally BREAK the internet.
Originally published at https://madewithmerit.com
