The 48-hour sale has become not just a bellwether for Amazon, but for the retail industry.
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Practical purchases dominated this year's Amazon Prime Day in the US, the 48 hours of mega-discounts that generate billions in sales.
Apparel and shoes, home goods, and household essentials were the top three categories with the highest volume of purchases during the two-day sale earlier this week, according to an initial report from market research firm Numerator, which tracked over 35,000 households.
Of the top five top-selling products in the US, Numerator found that three were household and grocery items — Premier protein shakes, Liquid IV packets, and Glad trash bags. One was a returning top product from last year, the Amazon-branded Fire TV Stick. The fifth was a facial serum made with snail mucus that topped holiday purchases, too.
Numerator did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside standard business hours.
Last year, consumer electronics and cosmetics were among the top Prime Day purchases, CNBC reported.
US consumers are generally spending less and focusing on essential products in the face of higher living costs. Retail spending for June was down 0.1% from May — but up 2% year-over-year, the US Census reported earlier this week.
This year's average Prime Day cost per item purchased was about $28, per Numerator.
Despite the general economic malaise, shoppers continue to spend with Amazon. Adobe Analytics forecasted before the mega-sale that this year's Prime Day would hit a record $14 billion in sales, breaking 2023's record by 10.5%.
The average spend per order during Prime Day rose to around $60, compared to around $56 in 2023, per Numerator. Since most households put in multiple orders, the average total spend per US household this year was about $152, Numerator said.
An Amazon spokeswoman told Business Insider that third-party data might not reflect global trends.
And it's too early to know what Amazon shoppers bought around the world: Some countries' Prime Day sales stretch for nearly a week, while India's Prime Day happens later this summer.
Since its launch a decade ago, Prime Day has become not just a bellwether for Amazon, but for the retail industry, especially as the busy back-to-school shopping season kicks into full gear.
"It was Christmas in July quite frankly — a bigger day than Black Friday," Brian Olsavsky, Amazon's CFO, told investors after the company's first Prime Day.
The annual sale has also drawn regulators' attention to worker safety.
A preliminary report from the US Senate's Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee released on Tuesday found that during Amazon's Prime Day shopping event in 2019, the tech and retail giant reported 10 injuries per 100 warehouse workers to the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration — double the industry average.
An Amazon spokeswoman told BI earlier this week that the report "draws sweeping and inaccurate conclusions."
