As the dust settles from Amazon's Fall Prime Day event, sellers and analysts are scrutinizing the data to identify which products will truly drive profits during the critical year-end shopping season. While the event reportedly moved over 100 million items, the reality behind these numbers reveals a more complex picture.
A Tale of Two Prime Days
The Fall Prime Day, branded as the "Early Access Holiday Event," paled in comparison to its summer counterpart. The summer event achieved staggering sales of 300 million items, with over 100,000 products sold per minute. In contrast, the fall event saw significantly lower average order values ($46.68 compared to $60.29 in summer) and 58% of items sold for under $20. Many sellers reported disappointing traffic and order volumes, with razor-thin profit margins after accounting for increased advertising costs.
Three Key Categories for Holiday Success
Despite the muted performance, the event provided valuable insights into holiday shopping trends. Apparel, home goods, and toys emerged as the top three performing categories, with Amazon predicting these sectors will maintain their momentum through Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the entire holiday season.
The Top 10 Products to Watch
Market research has identified the ten best-selling product categories during the event, offering strategic guidance for holiday inventory planning:
- Household essentials : Paper goods and cleaning supplies with stable demand and high repurchase rates
- Beauty and wellness products : Skincare masks and supplements with broad appeal and healthy margins
- Apparel and footwear : Trend-sensitive fashion items requiring careful trend analysis
- Toys and games : Holiday gift favorites, particularly educational toys and licensed merchandise
- Consumer electronics : Headphones and smartwatches with strong technological appeal
- Home decor : Decorative items and small furniture that enhance living spaces
- Gardening supplies : Plants and tools catering to the growing interest in greenery
- Pet products : Food and toys benefiting from the booming pet economy
- Smart home devices : Speakers and lighting systems that create connected living spaces
- Groceries : Snacks and beverages that meet everyday needs
Notably, books and video products ranked last among the top ten, indicating consumers prioritize practical purchases during promotional periods.
The Amazon Private Label Challenge
Amazon's private label products dominated multiple categories, creating intense competition for third-party sellers. In smart home devices, 60% of consumers preferred Amazon-branded products, thanks to the Echo and Alexa ecosystem. Similar preferences (over 40%) were observed for household essentials, electronics, baby products, and office supplies. This dominance requires sellers to develop more sophisticated product selection and marketing strategies.
Specific bestsellers from the U.S. marketplace provide additional insights, including LANEIGE lip masks, Apple AirPods (2nd generation), and Vital Proteins collagen peptides. Seasonal items like wreaths, decorative lights, and Halloween costumes also performed well, offering valuable guidance for holiday inventory planning.
The Fall Prime Day data provides a roadmap for navigating the holiday shopping season. By focusing on the top-performing categories and products while accounting for Amazon's private label competition, sellers can position themselves for success during the most lucrative retail period of the year.