Officially unveiled at its investor meeting in February, Walmart’s re-engineered supply chain makes greater use of technology to improve in-stock rates, inventory accuracy, and flow across stores, pickup services, and delivery.

At the heart of the revamping, which was a multi-year project, is an artificial intelligence-based inventory management system that positions products according to customer demand. For example, the system can recognize a top-selling toy in a particular region, and automatically send more of those items to those stores. Alternatively, if a toy is selling better in the Midwest compared to the East Coast, the inventory management system can reposition inventory to that area of the country.

“This will be the first holiday shopping season where customers will begin feeling the benefits of our next generation supply chain,” the retailer said in an Oct. 31 blog post. “We’re confident [the AI-based inventory management system] has set us up for success heading into the season and will continue to do so as holiday shopping kicks into high gear.”

Walmart leverages faster fulfillment for the holidays

Improved technology within its supply chain enables Walmart to increase its delivery options and expand its next-day and same-day shipping capabilities. Walmart can now provide same-day delivery to more than 80% of consumers in the United States and reach 90% of the country’s population with next- and two-day shipping.

To make same-day delivery available to such a high percentage of consumers, Walmart uses its 4,700 stores as fulfillment hubs. Walmart stores are located within 10 miles of 90% of the U.S. population.

Another improvement to its delivery services is on-demand delivery slots for same-day delivery. Online shoppers can choose a time that fits their schedule or select Express Delivery to receive items in 30 minutes. Shoppers can also select the Late Night Delivery services option, which is available at 4,000 stores, to receive orders up to 10:30 p.m.

70 retailers in the Top 1000 offer same-day delivery, and 353 offer next-day delivery. The Top 1000 is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest online retailers in North America.

“I think both Target and Walmart have used their existing store footprints to help their fulfillment goals, but Amazon’s owned fulfillment network, which puts a lot of its marketplace products closer to consumers, gives it a huge advantage still,” says James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360. Amazon ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000, and Walmart ranks No. 2.

Automated distribution centers

In addition, Walmart continues to install what it calls “next generation” technology in its distribution centers that reduces the number of steps in its fulfillment process. Walmart expects more than 15% of its stores will receive merchandise from automated distribution centers that can sort items by department and load them onto a pallet this holiday season. Once the merchandise arrives at the store, Walmart employees move the pallet to the appropriate department, as opposed to manually sorting items.

Shipping merchandise from its automated distribution centers is expected to accelerate how fast products can be delivered to stores and unloaded onto shelves, the retail says in its blog post. Walmart expects to have seven high-tech distribution centers operating by Thanksgiving. The first high-tech distribution center opened in 2022 in Joliet, Illinois.

“We’ve been working on re-engineering our supply chain for a number of years,” says a Walmart spokesperson. “Customer needs and expectations continue to evolve, and as they do, we’re committed to enhancing how we operate to best meet their needs now and in the future.”

Black Friday starts earlier

In response to consumers’ desire to have special holiday shopping events spread out during the holiday shopping season, Walmart is having two Black Friday events during November. The first event began Nov. 8 online and continues Friday, Nov. 10, in stores. The second event begins Nov. 22 online and continues in stores on the day after Thanksgiving — the traditional Black Friday — on Friday, Nov. 24.

The retailer will wrap up its November sales events with a Cyber Monday sale, which takes place Nov. 27. Walmart+ members will be able to access the Black Friday and Cyber Monday events three hours earlier than the scheduled start times. Walmart+ is a membership rewards program launched in 2020 and costs $98 per year.

“Customers have loved our reinvented Black Friday experience since we introduced it a few years ago,” says the Walmart spokesperson. “In fact, 76% of Walmart customers told us they prefer special deals to be spread out over the holiday shopping season as opposed to one moment.”

Pre-Black Friday holiday sales can pull forward some typical holiday spendings, says Neil Saunders, managing director at retail analysis firm Global Data. Some retailers started holiday sales even earlier this year, beginning with Amazon’s Big Deal Days in October. Walmart held a competing Holiday Kickoff sale at the same time.

Walmart updated its website for the holidays

In addition to its Black Friday and Cyber Monday events, Walmart is introducing several enhancements to make it easier for shoppers to find and save their favorite deals this holiday season, as well as shop and receive their purchases.

Walmart+ members and customers shopping on Walmart.com or the Walmart app will be able to save their favorite deals by clicking on the heart button, which automatically creates a personalized list called “My Saved Deals.” The hearting functionality allows shoppers to track and be notified of deals on those items as they become available. Shoppers can add the entire Saved Deals list to their cart in one click. My Saved Deals lists can also be shared to help take the guessing out of gifting, the retailer says.

“Walmart introduced Hearting so members and customers shopping on Walmart.com or the Walmart app can save their favorite deals,” says the Walmart spokesperson. “This new feature takes the guesswork out of holiday gifting by allowing customers to share their My Saved Deals lists with friends and family for easy wish list inspiration, while helping them track and shop their favorite deals in real time.”

Wish lists and registries help consumers prepare

Another enhancement to its online shopping experience is a holiday wish list and toy registry. The retailer’s holiday wish list page, which is scheduled to launch this month, enables shoppers to create a gift registry that can be saved and shared with others. Shoppers can also create a toy wish list directly from the Top Toy List on Walmart.com.

“With Walmart’s new Holiday Wish List page, customers can create their very own registry to effortlessly save all their holiday needs (and wants!) in one place and/or share with friends and family,” says the Walmart spokesperson. “From gift ideas to holiday décor, and even a new Toy Registry, customers can discover top gifts, like products from Walmart’s Top Toys List, making it even easier for family and friends to gift with confidence and check everything off their list this season.”

“Every change is thoughtful. They all ladder up to a greater goal: to meet our customers wherever they are, leveraging our stores to welcome people to a more modern, highly connected Walmart,” Walmart says in the Oct. 30 blog post. “Whether you’re walking in just to wander, grabbing a quick snack and dashing or using our Pickup & Delivery service, every one of our remodeled stores is ready to improve that experience.”

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On an earnings call with investors, he announced eBay revenue and gross merchandise value (GMV) grew in the marketplace’s fiscal third quarter, ended Sept. 30. EBay GMV grew to nearly $18 billion in Q3, he said. And much of its GMV in the past year has come just from collectibles.

“We generated over $10 billion in GMV from collectibles over the last 12 months, and more than one in four eBay buyers purchased at least one collectibles item over the past year,” Iannone said. “These buyers carry some of the highest conversion, repurchase, and retention rates on eBay. And they are also among the heaviest cross-category shoppers on our platform, which supports our other categories.”

In the past 12 months, eBay GMV reached about $72.8 billion, according to financials listed in its most recent earnings release. Based on those figures and Iannone’s statement, Digital Commerce 360 estimates eBay collectibles accounted for about 13% of GMV in the past 12 months.

EBay ranks No. 6 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces database. The database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV. Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report includes key insights into the biggest players in the database.

eBay capitalizes on collectibles in Q3

Iannone said eBay’s goal is to remain “the world’s most loved destination for passionate collectibles enthusiasts.” Working toward that goal, he said, eBay launched direct submissions to its vault.

“This enables any U.S. resident to send in trading cards valued at $250 or higher from their personal collections to the vault, even if they were not purchased on eBay,” he said.

Additionally, in July, eBay announced what it calls Vault Enhanced Submission. It enables eBay “to gather large amounts” of valuable trading cards in person at events. In one weekend, eBay added “tens of millions of dollars of assets under management to the eBay vault,” Iannone added. That includes a signed Jackie Robinson card valued at about $1 million.

The marketplace describes eBay vault as “a secure, climate-controlled, physical storage facility for graded trading cards available to eBay customers. In addition to best-in-class storage, the eBay vault offers opportunities for seamless buying and hassle-free selling with the confidence that comes with Authenticity Guarantee.”

The eBay collectibles category includes sports trading cards, toys and figures, sports memorabilia, comic books and more. The category accounts for more than 10% of eBay GMV.

eBay revamps condition grading system for trading cards

Iannone said eBay “revamped” its condition grading system for trading cards. It improves transparency for collectibles in the subcategory, he said. New listings now carry more precise details, he added. That includes whether a card has been professionally graded and the numerical grade, or one of several predefined card conditions.

EBay will also migrate existing listings to the new standard “over the coming months,” Iannone said. “Sellers have been asking us for this feature for some time, and we believe it will drive improved trust for buyers, better and more consistent price realization for sellers, as well as more robust data and insights around individual card values for eBay.”

Making the shopping experience more interactive

Although still in beta, eBay launched eBay Live last year in response to its growing community of collectors and enthusiasts, Iannone said. The interactive live-shopping feature is available within the eBay app, and the marketplace continues to expand its availability to more sellers and categories, he said.

Using eBay Live, buyers can interact with sellers and checkout in real time without leaving the livestream, Iannone added.

“Q3 marked an inflection point as we hosted over 1,000 live events, saw our millionth buyer tune in, and grew GMV from eBay Live by 4x quarter-over-quarter,” Iannone said.

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CEO Jamie Iannone said in addition to delivering “solid results,” eBay has accelerated its innovation pace. Notably, that refers at least in part to eBay’s generative AI technology.

EBay ranks No. 6 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces database. The database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV. Digital Commerce 360’s 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report includes key insights into the biggest players in the database.

EBay had a rough year in 2022, with GMV falling 15.4% compared to 2021, said James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360. In 2020, when supply chains “got far out of whack,” he said, eBay and other pure marketplaces saw a “huge surge” as shoppers turned to alternate channels and some people bought up popular products to resell on these giant marketplaces.

“This quarter, it remained flat over last year’s Q3 as GMV returns to the level it likely would have been at without a pandemic,” Risley said. “Stronger supply chains coupled with retailers adding on new marketplaces to their ecommerce operations have forced eBay to find ways to increase revenue without GMV increases, and they seem to have done that.”

eBay revenue and gross merchandise value (GMV)

In its fiscal third quarter, eBay revenue grew 5% year over year. That’s up to $2.5 billion from $2.38 billion in Q3 2022.

Meanwhile, eBay GMV grew 2% year over year. It reached $17.99 billion in Q3. That’s slightly less than eBay GMV in Q2, which was $18.21 billion, but it’s greater than GMV in Q3 2022, which was $17.72 billion. In the United States, eBay GMV declined slightly to $8.64 billion. That’s down 1% from about $8.70 billion in Q3 2022. EBay defines GMV as the total value of all paid transactions between users on its platforms during the applicable period, including shipping fees and taxes.

EBay active buyers decreased 3%, to 132 million in Q3 from 135 million in the comparable period of 2022. The marketplace identifies active buyers as those who paid for a transaction on its platforms within the previous 12-month period.

eBay generative AI technology updates

Iannone said the Magical Listing tool, which uses artificial intelligence to help sellers, rolled out to 100% of mobile app users in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany in eBay’s fiscal Q3. In October, eBay extended generative AI descriptions to 50% of desktop users in the same three countries, he said.

The Magical Listing tool makes it simple and fast to list items, he said. It also helps ensure listing are comprehensive to maximize sales, he said. As part of the Magical Listing experience, eBay has rolled out an improved background removal tool powered by AI, he added.

“Now, generative AI allows us to leverage our treasure trove of images and listing data to quickly create compelling listings,” Iannone said. “Early users have told us these capabilities will unlock more of the inventory in their closets and garages, which could ultimately keep more products out of landfills.”

The first phase of the Magical Listing process “leverages generative AI to instantly populate the item description within the listing flow based on a product’s title, category and other aspects,” he said.

EBay’s camera-based Magical Listing tool has been in employee beta for several months, Iannone added. It is also currently in a limited beta with a number of large sellers.

eBay earnings summary

For the fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay Inc. reported:

• $2.5 billion in revenue. That’s up 5% from $2.38 billion in the year-ago period.
• eBay GMV increased to $17.99 billion. That’s a 2% year-over-year increase from $17.72 billion. However, eBay GMV in Q3 decreased from Q2’s 418.21 billion.
• eBay active buyers decreased 3% year over year to 132 million.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding. Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s eBay update.

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It’s No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV.

“We already have made these investments, technologies,” Witcher said, speaking from Amazon’s perspective. “How do we create incremental revenue by applying those sunk costs to new opportunities for others to take advantage of those costs where we can benefit in a financial way? This has been part of Amazon’s strategy for quite a while.”

Andy Jassy, Amazon’s CEO, spoke about different SaaS initiatives on a recent earnings call with investors for its fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, 2023.

Amazon’s fastest-growing sectors are ads and seller services, said James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360.

It shows that “while Amazon’s online stores are still growing well, its third-party sellers are the real growth leaders for the company,” Risley said. “Online stores only grew 2.0% in the first half of the year, though, and grew 7.0% in Q3, so the momentum is strong for first-party sales as Amazon potentially shifts its focus ahead of government pressure and a more savvy consumer who prefers direct relationships with sellers.”

Supply Chain by Amazon changes the fulfillment game

Two key Amazon software-as-a-service programs Jassy addressed were Supply Chain by Amazon and a growing generative AI initiative. New Amazon generative AI technology gives merchants the ability to create web pages and product imagery “with nearly endless flexibility,” calling it, along with Supply Chain by Amazon and AWS “the democratization of technology.”

Jassy said the company has seen “very positive early response from sellers to Supply Chain by Amazon.”

Supply Chain by Amazon is a fully automated set of services in which the mass merchant handles:

• Inventory pickup
• Shipping
• Customs clearance
• Ground transportation
• Inventory storage
• Replenishment

Amazon has been making “huge investments” in supply chain for more than a decade, Witcher said. The idea was that Amazon would eventually reach scale and those investments would pay off, he added.

“I think you’re starting to see that now, particularly because they’re starting to outsource delivery as a service,” Witcher said.

Amazon already has the infrastructure in place, so these are sunk costs, he said.

Amazon software as a service (SaaS) can change the game for third-party sellers

“Generative AI developments should be given more weight than Amazon let on,” Witcher said. “Using this innovative technology really gives Amazon the operational efficiencies in inventory planning and route planning that they need to realize the ROI of all these investments they made in supply chain.”

Witcher said AWS was the proof of concept that Amazon can create incremental revenue from its existing services and offerings. He said Fulfilled by Amazon (FBA) “clearly” works for a lot of sellers.

“Now, Amazon’s removing the pain points of being a small-business seller,” Witcher said. “Nobody gets into the retail business saying, ‘I can’t wait to build web pages’ or do photoshoots. That’s not why they get into selling products. They want to sell products. Amazon understands this, and so they’re using this in a way to make it easier for third-party sellers to have that Amazon relationship and make more reasons to say why they should have the Amazon relationship. I think that’s really what this comes right down to.”

Generative AI technology and the Amazon ecosystem

Witcher said Amazon understands that mom-and-pop shops and small companies don’t necessarily have the time or skill set to generate web pages and product imagery.

“The ability to use generative AI just helps those sellers,” Witcher said. “There’s a compounding effect to this, which is: The easier it is for me to build websites, the easier it is for me to upload product pages. Then, it’s easier for me to sell on Amazon. Well, if I’m already selling on Amazon, then it’s easier for me to give Amazon my supply chain, pay for them to do my supply chain, pay for them to have Amazon Pay on my website. It just bakes you deeper into the ecosystem of Amazon as you start to find value in the things Amazon offers.”

He added that this is “certainly a differentiator” for Amazon compared with other marketplaces. However, he said, he expects other retailers to follow suit.

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Despite the growth, CEO Josh Silverman said on an earnings call with investors that “significant pressure” on consumer discretionary spending, including high inflation, elevated interest in mortgage rates and declining savings balances, “have meant that there’s little leftover for many consumers after paying for food, gas, rent and child care.”

“These issues are magnified for lower-income buyers, and we feel the impact on the Etsy marketplace,” he said.

Etsy ranks No. 17 in Digital Commerce 360’s new 2023 Global Online Marketplaces Report. The Global Online Marketplaces Database ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party gross merchandise value (GMV).

Etsy gross merchandise sales (GMS) in Q3

In line with expectations, Silverman said, Etsy gross merchandise sales grew to $3.04 billion. That’s a 1.2% year-over-year increase. Meanwhile, Etsy revenue grew 7% year over year to reach $636 million.

This comes as Etsy once again reached a new record in active buyers, at 92 million. In Q2, Etsy active buyers had reached 91 million.

“We’ve been laser focused all year on knocking down barriers that stop buyers from shopping or shopping more often on Etsy,” Silverman said. “We know that buyers turn to Etsy most often for low-risk items, but we believe our opportunity is so much larger than that.”

Etsy’s sellers tend to offer luxuries, said James Risley, research data manager and senior analyst at Digital Commerce 360. And in the macroeconomic environment, he said, buyers may be pulling back from the handmade items Etsy is known for, in favor of off-the-shelf goods. This is reflected in the reduced gross merchandise sales reported by Etsy for the first nine months of the year, he said.

“However, sellers are fighting harder for those dollars, and services revenue is up significantly as sellers spend on ads to gain those dollars,” Risley said. “With this quarter’s increase in GMV, Etsy may have benefited from earlier holiday shopping starts amid Amazon’s early holiday push. It’s pushed more into promotional offers that increase order values, helping it compete on those days when shoppers are primed to spend.”

AI and machine learning power up Etsy

Silverman said Etsy has seen a nine-fold increase in the number of human-curated Etsy listings. Etsy expects the listings to top 1.5 million by the end of the year. Etsy is using machine-learning models designed to determine the visual appeal of items and incorporating that information into search algorithms, he said.

He added that Etsy has “launched a variety of experiments with the help of Gen AI” to evolve its head query searches. Head queries are those that get searched most frequently and get the majority of the engagement.

“As we move into 2024, when a buyer searches for broad queries, we expect to be able to show a far more diverse and compelling set of ideas,” Silverman said.

Etsy looks forward to the holidays

“It’s game time for holiday,” Silverman said.

Etsy’s message for the holiday season, he said, is that the marketplace will “make you a gifting hero.”

This comes with four key initiatives, he said.

1. Etsy has launched a “new and improved” curated gift finder. That’s now available on the Etsy app and featured more prominently on mobile web, Silverman said.
2. New deals tab. This replaces the Etsy app’s “updates” tab. That makes it easier to find personalized deals and gifts at an affordable price, Silverman said.
3. The marketplace continues to selectively test Etsy-funded offers.
4. “Etsy gifts will be delivered on time or your money back,” Silverman said. “Our estimated delivery date performance and Etsy purchase protection program enable us to stand behind purchases and work to disrupt buyer perceptions.”

Etsy earnings

For the fiscal third quarter ended Sept. 30, Etsy Inc. reported:

• Active buyers reached 92 million. That’s a new company record, following the previous quarter’s then-record 91 million.
• Etsy gross merchandise sales, or GMS, grew to $3.04 billion. That’s a 1.2% increase from the third quarter of fiscal 2022.
• Etsy revenue grew to $636.3 million. That’s up 7.0% from $594.5 million in the year-ago period.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Etsy Inc. reported:

• Etsy gross merchandise sales, or GMS, decreased to $9.15 billion. That’s down 1.4% from $9.28 billion in the first nine months of fiscal 2022.
• Etsy revenue grew to $1.91 billion. That’s up 8.4% from $1.76 billion in the year-ago period.

Percentage changes may not align exactly with dollar figures due to rounding.

Check back for more earnings reports. Here’s last quarter’s Etsy report.

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The OpenAI consortium released its generative AI bot ChatGPT for public use during Q4 2022, and it quickly became the hottest topic around. Months later, everyone in the online retail industry is still buzzing about generative AI, but how many businesses are actually using the technology today? And how many would want to talk to us about it?

Turns out, quite a few.

While many merchants we talked to are still just piloting and exploring how best to use the burgeoning technology, many brands have live generative AI programs up today. This Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce,” showcases examples of many large retail brands (and a few smaller ones) and how they are using generative AI right now.

Below is just a sampling of examples you’ll find in the rest of this report. Download the entire Strategy Insights here.

1.) Stitch Fix taps generative AI to write  ad headlines and product descriptions

Apparel retailer Stitch Fix uses generative AI to write headlines for Facebook and Instagram ads. In the past, it would take about two weeks to develop a creative campaign and draft copy. But now, human copywriters can evaluate a headline created by the generative AI system in less than one minute — and they approve the machine-created content 77% of the time, Stitch Fix says.

2.) Babylist uses generative AI to write email subject lines

Baby products marketplace and registry says its marketers are expected to use generative AI to help create ideas, content and copy, says Lee Anne Grant, chief growth officer. Babylist finds that ChatGPT-generated subject lines increased open rates for marketing email in half of their tests. It concluded that ChatGPT is a “great resource for when the team needs subject line inspiration or help writing one,” Grant says.

3.) J’evar uses generative AI to create product models

Online-only jewelry merchant J’evar has its product designers use generative AI to speed up how it creates custom jewelry pieces. Instead of going through dozens of product mockups over the course of weeks, genAI can help its designers produce product samples in minutes, says J’evar founder and CEO Amish Shah.

4.) Newegg uses generative AI to summarize customer reviews

Online electronics retailer Newegg built a generative AI tool in house that creates one product summary for a product based on all of the published customer reviews. This review is published at the top of all the reviews. Reviews are an important feature for Newegg, as 20% of Newegg.com shoppers read reviews, and these shoppers spend 40% more money on the site than non-review reading shoppers, says Andrew Choi, director of brand and website experience for Newegg.

5.) UrbanStems creates images with genAI

Online flower merchant UrbanStems is using generative AI in multiple ways, including having it create images of potential products it wants to sell. For example, the brand can tell its generative AI software to create an image of a 10-stem red and white arrangement of peonies in a glass vase and white background — and send that image to its merchandising team to create the product in real life. This helps the brand quickly experiment with new designs, without having to purchase flowers and conduct a photo shoot just for a design mock up, says Katie Hudson, content director for UrbanStems.

6.) EBay enables its marketplace sellers to use genAI to write product descriptions

Marketplace giant eBay built a tool based on Open AI’s ChatGPT that creates a product description based on data sellers provide about a product’s category, condition, color, brand and more. Roughly 20% of sellers shown the generative AI tool use it, and of those, 90% accept at least part of the description, says Xiaodi Zhang, vice president of seller experience at eBay.  

Download the free Digital Commerce 360 October Strategy Insights, “6 ways retailers are using AI right now and how generative AI will change ecommerce” here.

—April Berthene, Editor, Strategy Insights

Additional reporting from Digital Commerce 360 editors Don Davis, Gretchen Salois and Abbas Haleem.

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“Big Deal Days was Amazon’s most successful fall sale to date,” analyst at market research firm Numerator Amanda Schoenbauer says.

Amazon says Prime Members bought hundreds of millions of items in its sale on Oct. 10 and 11. More than 150 million of those purchases were from third-party sellers, which make up the majority of GMV on Amazon’s marketplace.

Amazon ranks No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by web sales. Amazon is No. 3 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the top 100 online marketplaces.

The second annual fall sales event was “a strong start to the holiday shopping season,” CEO of Worldwide Amazon Stores Doug Herrington said in a written statement. Prime Members ordered more than 25 million items for same-day and next-day delivery, he said in the statement.

Most popular Amazon Big Deal Days products

Amazon says apparel, beauty, home and toys were the best-selling categories during the sales event. That lines up with results from market research firm Numerator, based on analysis of more than 70,000 orders and 137,000 products from 31,000 buyers. Numerator found apparel and accessories to be the most popular category, followed by home goods and home essentials. 

As usual, Amazon-brand products were highly popular during the sale. Prime members bought millions of Alexa-enabled devices, with Fire TVs and Echos being the most popular, Amazon said. 

Apple AirPods Pro (2nd Generation), Bissell Little Green Multi-Purpose Portable Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner, and Crest 3D Whitestrips rounded out the other top sellers, according to Amazon.

Numerator listed the top five Big Deal Days sellers as:

1. Premier Protein Shakes
2. Amazon Basics Batteries
3. Amazon Fire TV stick
4. Liquid I.V. Hydration Packs
5. Energizer AA Batteries

The top-selling products were similar to customer favorites from the larger July Prime sale, including apparel and electronics.

How does Big Deal Days compare to other Amazon sales?

“While nearly as many households participated in this week’s sale as did July’s Prime Day, households spent less on average during the Big Deal Days sale, placing fewer orders and purchasing lower-priced items,” Numerator’s Schoenbauer says.

The average order size for the Big Deal Days sale was $53.47, according to Numerator. That’s down slightly from $58.67 for the July Prime Day sales event. The average household spent $124.09, compared with $181.72 in July.

“This was the largest holiday sale we’ve seen this early in the season, but only about a quarter of participants said they used it to purchase holiday items, and very few actually completed a significant amount of their holiday shopping,” Schoenbauer says, based on Numerator data.

82% of a panel of 100 retailers in the Top 1000 online retailers held a promotion on Oct. 10, the first day of Amazon’s sale. That’s an increase from 72% during the control period two weeks prior to the sale, and from the 75% of retailers that held competing events with the July Prime sale.

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In Digital Commerce 360’s panel of 100 online retailers from the 2023 Digital Commerce 360 Top 1000, where Amazon is No. 1, 82.0% offered promotions of some kind on Oct. 10, the first day of Amazon’s Big Deal Days. That’s up from 72.0% during a control period two weeks prior. That’s also above the 75.0% of retailers running competing promotions on Amazon Prime Day, the summer shopping holiday that’s now nearly a decade old.

This is only the second year for Amazon’s fall holiday event, though Amazon Prime Day was pushed back to this time period in 2020. Last year, during an “Early Access” promotion, the same panel wasn’t so eager to compete with Amazon for a whole new shopping holiday — while 80.0% offered promotions last year, discounts were smaller with the median retailer offering up to 40% off compared to 50% this year.

Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. It ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV.

Big competition on Big Deal Days

While retailers were likely to offer site-wide sales to compete with Big Deal Days, few were willing to play into Amazon’s naming scheme. Of those offering promotions, 14.6% nodded to Prime Big Deal Days. Designer Brands (No. 77) promoted “40% off big-deal brands” on the DSW site, while Kohl’s Corp. (No. 23) called its sale the Deal Dash.

DSW.com offered discounts on “big-deal brands” in a playful reference to the manufactured shopping holiday.

Walmart, which sat out both Prime Days and Early Access Days in 2022, returned to compete during Prime Days this year. The mass merchant heavily promoted during Big Deal Days as well. A popup appeared on its homepage promoting the membership program Walmart+, along with plenty of nods to the savings it grants. The difference was that most of Walmart’s deals weren’t locked behind its paid membership, in contrast with Amazon.

Target ran deals during the week prior to Amazon’s shopping holiday. Circle Week matched its Prime Days strategy, but offsetting its sale was a new twist. Walmart attempted a sale before Prime Days last year but didn’t garner any similar sales from other retailers. Similarly, it doesn’t seem many retailers offered off-peak sales and instead hoped to ride in Amazon’s wake to capture consumers in the spending mindset.

The new start of the holiday season?

While Amazon ditched the idea that this shopping holiday is explicitly for early holiday shopping, many retailers used the manufactured holiday to kick off their Christmastime sales. 18.9% of retailers offering promotions tied it to Christmas, Black Friday or the holidays more generally. That’s up from 3.2% two weeks ago mentioning winter events. Despite Halloween right around the corner, just 5.4% of promotional retailers mentioned the spookiest holiday on their homepages.

Percentage off discounts reigned supreme, as they usually do, with 64.9% of promotional retailers offering a discount of a certain percent. 27.0% offered dollar-based discounts, while 14.9% offered free shipping promotions. Nearly half of promotional retailers offered more than one type of promotion on the homepage.

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And so far, based on data measured by consumer market research firm Numerator, online consumers shopped early and, for many, often. The average order size so far on Prime Big Deal Days is $54.00, down from July’s Prime Day sale but up slightly from last October’s Prime Early Access sale.

About a third (38%) of households shopping Prime Big Deal Days have already placed two or more separate orders, bringing the average household spend to roughly $89.32, says Numerator.

Amazon is No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. It ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV.

Here is a look at who is shopping Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, what they are spending and where they are spending it.

Three key takeaways about Amazon Prime Big Deal Days (Day 1)

1. Where consumers are buying

The top items so far on are Amazon-branded batteries, Premier Protein Shakes and ThisWorx car vacuums. More than half (60%) of Prime Big Deal Days items have sold for under $20, while 4% are over $100 — the average spend per item is $27.85, says Numerator.

2. The face of the customer

The sales event’s typical shopper is a high income, suburban customer, says Numerator. The typical observed Prime Big Deal Days shopper is age 35 to 44. 93% of shoppers knew it was Prime Big Deal Days before visiting Amazon and making their purchase, and 79% say the sale was their primary reason for shopping.

3. Satisfaction may or may not be guaranteed

61% of Prime Big Deal Days shoppers say they were highly satisfied with the deals offered, says Numerator. But over half (55%) compared prices at other retailers before making their Amazon purchases.

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Amazon is betting that Prime members will spend heavily on deeply discounted items. It looks to lure web shoppers in with deals that range from seasonal decor starting as low as $6 to invitation-only deals like 60% off 50-inch smart TVs and savings on brand names such as up to 50% off Sony products and 30% off Lego items.

But exactly what Prime members are looking to purchase and how much they will spend will vary widely by age, income, and other factors, says new research from market research company Numerator and industry survey.

Amazon is No. 1 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers. Amazon is also No. 3 in Digital Commerce 360’s Global Online Marketplaces Database. It ranks the 100 largest such marketplaces by 2023 third-party GMV.

Amazon Big Deal Days closely precede holiday sales period

Nearly one-third of all consumers are expected to shop online during Amazon Prime Big Deal Days. While those won’t be as big as the 37% of consumers that shopped and bought this summer during Amazon Prime days, Prime Deal Days will “bring a significant boost to ecommerce sales in general, “with the first day of the sale potentially surpassing Cyber Monday in online shopping,” Numerator says.

Other research firms also suggest that while Amazon Prime Big Deal Days will generate big business for Amazon and other big chain retailers this week, many budget-conscious shoppers will choose to shop later and closer to online retailing’s biggest days: Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Nearly half (44%) of consumers who plan on shopping during the 2023 winter holiday season say they plan to do so during a preseason sales event like Amazon Prime Big Deal Days, says research firm Mintel.

Shoppers remain budget-conscious

But Black Friday and Cyber Monday remain popular (45%) as consumers’ budget-focused mindset continues, says Mintel.

“Over a quarter (28%) of winter holiday shoppers agree that it is even more critical to shop on Black Friday or Cyber Monday because of inflation/rising prices,” Mintel says. “When asked how inflation impacts their spending, 42% of winter holiday shoppers say they purchase fewer gifts, while a quarter (24%) say they switch to lower-priced retailers.”

Even with Amazon and other retailers pushing big deals and deep discounts this week, consumers may remain more budget-minded than in earlier years, Mintel says. Three in five (59%) consumers who plan to do winter holiday shopping in 2023 say they want to spend the least amount of money possible, says Mintel.

“Consumers will participate more in preseason shopping sales, such as Amazon Prime Day, to take advantage of the deals and discounts,” says Mintel retail and ecommerce analyst Brittany Steiger. “They remain value-conscious and look to spend as little as possible.”

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